It’s a matchup of Central Division teams battle on the ice in the Land of 10,000 Lakes when the Utah Hockey Club take on the Minnesota Wild Thursday night and we have the inside scoop with our Hockey Club vs. Wild prediction. Utah comes in off a 5-2 home win over Winnipeg in their previous contest Monday night. Minnesota earned a 3-1 road win over Colorado in their previous game Monday night. In the last 10 meetings between the teams, the Wild own a 6-4 advantage but the Hockey Club earned a 2-1 road win in the most recent meeting on December 20, 2024.

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Utah Shooting for Third Straight Win

Utah won their second straight game as they dropped Central Division-leading Winnipeg at home Monday night. The Hockey Club improved to 20-19-7 on the season and stood sixth in the Central Division, 18 points behind the Jets for the top spot in the division. They were 12 points back of the Stars for the final guaranteed playoff spot and four back of Calgary for the final wild card spot. Utah is 21st in the league in goals per game as they average 2.87 goals a night this season. The Hockey Club is tied for 14th in goals against as they allow an average of 2.98 goals per game on the year. Utah is tied for 14th in the league in power play success as they convert 21.7% of their chances with the man advantage this season. The Hockey Club is 10th in the league in penalty killing as they successfully navigate 81.5% of their shorthanded situations.

Against Winnipeg, Utah had a big offensive showing against a usually stingy Jets squad and skated away with an impressive win. The Hockey Club were outshot 11-10 in the opening period but skated off with the game scoreless after 20 minutes of pay. In the second period, Utah held a 10-6 edge in shots and outscored Winnipeg 2-0 to lead by that margin at the second intermission. Olli Maatta opened the scoring with his first goal of the season at 16:00 from Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller. Logan Cooley made it a 2-0 game with his 15th goal of the year at 19:42 with Barrett Hayton drawing the lone assist. In the third period, Utah saw the shots even at eight and outscored Winnipeg 3-2 to earn the win. Hayton gave Utah a 3-0 lead with his ninth goal of the year at 4:53 off assists from Josh Doan and Kevin Stenlund. Matias Maccelli build a 4-0 advantage with his eighth goal of the season at 8:04 off assists from Doan and Hayton. After giving up a pair of goals to halve their lead, Keller hit the empty net for his 16th goal of the year at 17:55 off an assist from Schmaltz to close the scoring. Connor Ingram made 23 saves for the Hockey Club, who held a 28-25 advantage in shots, in the win. He is the likely starter between the pipes here as well.


Wild Looking to Prevail at Home

Minnesota had dropped three straight and four of their previous five before taking down Colorado on the road Monday night in their previous game. The Wild entered Wednesday 28-15-4 on the season and stood second in the Central Division, five points behind the Jets for the top spot. Minnesota entered Wednesday tied for 18th in goals per game this season as they put up an average of 2.94 goals a night. The Wild are 10th in goals against as they have allowed 2.81 goals per contest this season. Minnesota is 23rd in power play success as they have converted 19% of their chances with the man advantage this season. The Wild stands 29th in penalty killing as they have successfully worked through 71.6% of their shorthanded situations on the year.

Against Colorado, Minnesota played stingy in their own end of the ice and managed to generate enough offense to skate away with the road win. The Wild owned a 9-4 advantage in shots in the opening period and skated away with a 1-0 advantage at the first intermission. Jake Middleton opened the scoring with his seventh goal of the season at 12:18 off assists from Liam Ohgren and Frederick Gaudreau. In the second period, Minnesota held a 13-7 edge in shots and gave up the lone goal of the period to knot the game at one after 40 minutes of play. The third period saw the Wild outshot by a 16-4 margin but they outscored Colorado 2-0 to earn the win. Yakov Trenin gave the Wild a 2-1 lead with his fourth goal of the year at 2:08 off assists from David Jiiricek and Ohgren. Brock Faber closed the scoring with his sixth goal of the year at 3:43 off assists from Ryan Hartman and Middleton to close the scoring. Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves for Minnesota, who were outshot 27-26, in the win. Filip Gustavsson likely gets the nod between the pipes here for the Wild.
Insiders Status:

Utah comes in off a big win over Winnipeg but they have been offensively challenged this season. Minnesota got back in the win column by downing Colorado and they get a big boost in this game. Kirill Kaprizov is slated to return after missing 12 games with injury, which should be a shot in the arm offensively. The Wild are rather pedestrian at home, going 11-10-1 on the season compared to 17-5-3 on the road but they are tough in their own end. Utah is tough to get a good read on because they’ll play well and then turn in a complete dud the next time out. The Hockey Club may be a little flat after earning their win over Winnipeg and the Wild are the more complete team. Give the advantage to Minnesota on home ice here as they earn a second straight win.
Insiders Status:

Each of these teams have played more to the under this season with Minnesota posting a 24-21-2 mark to the under while Utah has a 24-18-4 record to the under this year. The Hockey Club has been held to three goals or less in eight of their last 11 games heading into this contest. Minnesota hasn’t scored more than three goals in any of their last six contests. The first meeting in Minnesota between the teams this season was a 2-1 Utah victory. Kaprizov’s return should provide a spark but this game ends up falling short of the total as goaltending is up to par for both sides.
For another opinion on this game, check out Utah Hockey Club vs. Minnesota Wild Prediction from Statsalt, our partner site.
Author Profile
Chris King , “Chris King”
Chris King has been immersed in the world of professional and collegiate sports for more than three decades. Whether it’s playing pickup games or being involved in organized sports to being a fan, he’s checked all the boxes. From the NFL to arena football, the NHL to the KHL, the NBA to the WNBA to college hoops, and even MLB to the KBO.  If it’s out there, he’s covered it and bet on it as well, as Chris has been an expert bettor in his career.  Before joining Winners and Whiners back in 2015, his work appeared around the internet and in print. He’s written books for Ruckus Books about college basketball, the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, golf, and the World Cup. If you’re looking for the inside track on hitting a winner, do yourself a favor and read what Chris has to say.
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