Minnesota Wild @ Anaheim Ducks Tips - Ducks to tame the Wild

Two teams struggling in the lower half of the NHL West Division clash on Friday when the Minnesota Wild take on the Anaheim Ducks. Neither of these teams are in danger of reaching the playoffs, but both are capable of improving on their current positions. 

The Wild and the Ducks last met in January, and on that occasion Minnesota were victorious 3-2. They would subsequently win just three of their next seven games, suffer five postponements, and slide to the bottom of the division. Meanwhile the Ducks have hovered mid-table, with a record of 6 wins, 7 defeats, and 3 overtime losses. 

I’m picking the Ducks to beat the Wild on Friday, simply because they have played more ice hockey, and had some decent performances, namely beating division leaders Vegas 1-0 this month.  

The Anaheim Ducks lead their head to head with the Minnesota Wild by 29 wins to 23. In their most recent six matches, the teams have won three games each. Their most recent match came in January this year, with the Wild winning 3-2. 

The Minnesota Wild are currently bottom of the NHL West Division. Although Minnesota’s record of six wins and six defeats isn’t great, that’s not the main reason why they are postioned so low. 

Thanks to COVID-19 wreaking havoc with the NHL’s scheduling (and the world), the Wild have played fewer games than any other team in their division. 

Minnesota had had five consecutive matches postponed, and didn’t play any hockey from their 2-1 defeat to Colorado on February 3, until their 4-0 defeat to the LA Kings. During those two weeks Minnesota went without hockey, the Kings played four games. Could that be a contributing factor to the Kings scoring such a one-sided win over the Wild? 

Joel Eriksson has shone for the Wild this season with 5 goals, while Jordan Greenway has been outstanding with 10 assists. Minnesota’s best goalie has been Cam Talbot.

  

Frustratingly for Anaheim fans, the team has been hit by scheduling issues, and hasn’t capitalized on the chances in matches. The Ducks drew confidence from their great performance in losing 5-4 to the Vegas Golden Knights on February 10, winning the next game against Vegas two days later 1-0. 

Anaheim should have built on those results with a win over the San Jose Sharks on February 16, but instead went down 4-3. Their next two matches against the two best teams in the division, Vegas and St. Louis were postponed. 

Anaheim are fifth in the West Division with 6 wins, 7 defeats and three overtime losses, which have netted them a point each. Outstanding for the Ducks this season has been Max Comtois with seven goals, Richard Rakell with six assists, and goalie John Gibson, whom many experts rate as the best in the league.