This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
NHL Expert Picks for March 29: Free NHL Bets and Player Props for Wild vs. Avalanche
The Minnesota Wild (43-22-9) travel to meet the Colorado Avalanche (44-23-6) on Wednesday night at Ball Arena in Denver. Puck drop is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on TNT.
The Wild currently sit atop the Central Division with 95 points, while the Avalanche are one point behind with a game in hand, so this is an ultra-important game with plenty of playoff implications on the line.
The last time these teams met, the Avalanche posted a 3-2 victory at XCel Energy Center in St. Paul on Feb. 15 as the Under cashed. The Avs also picked up a win in the Twin Cities in the first meeting on Oct. 17, doubling up the Wild 6-3 behind Alexander Georgiev.
The Wild are coming off a 5-1 win over the Seattle Kraken last time out on Monday, and Minnesota has picked up at least one point in five consecutive outings (4-0-1), while going 15-1-4 in the past 20 games overall since that Feb. 15 setback to the Avs.
The defending champ Avalanche have also been hot lately, pounding the Anaheim Ducks last time out on Monday by a 5-1 count. Colorado has won three in a row, albeit against the Ducks and Arizona Coyotes (x2). Still, the Avs are 9-1-0 in the past 10 games overall, so something's gotta give here.
Minnesota is 10-2 in the past 12 games against the Western Conference, and 5-1 in the past six inside the Central Division, while going 4-1 in the past five against winning teams. And while the Wild are 6-2 in the past eight road games, they're 0-4 in the past four visits to the Mile High City, while going just 3-7 in the past 10 meetings overall.
Colorado has rolled up seven wins in the past eight games when working on a day of rest. In addition, the favorite has cashed in seven of the past 10 in this series, while the home team has cashed in five of the past seven.
The Wild have been red-hot lately, but the Avalanche are their kryptonite. Colorado have a ton of trends in its favor, it's on home ice, and it will be in first place by the time the dust clears.
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NHL Money Line Bets for Wild vs. Avalanche
- Avalanche ML (-155 at BetRivers)
The past four meetings have been in St. Paul, in a bit of a scheduling quirk. Three of those meetings have cashed Under, with the Under going 4-1-1 in the past six in the series overall.
The lone Over result during that six-game game stretch came back on Oct. 17, and really, Minnesota was a completely different team then. Similarly, so was Colorado. Both teams are playing much, much better lately, and defense and goaltending has been sharp of late.
The Under is 22-6-1 in the past 29 for the Wild when playing on a day of rest, while going 10-4-1 in the past 15 when facing a team with a winning record.
Similarly, the Avalanche are 18-8-3 in the past 29 when squaring off against a winning team, while going 5-2 in the past seven at Ball Arena. The Under is also 13-3-2 in the previous 18 games inside the Central Division.
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NHL Totals Bets for Wild vs. Avalanche
- Under 6 (-114 at BetRivers)
NHL Player Props for Wild vs. Avalanche
The player props for this titanic Central Division clash have a couple of attractive plays on each side of the ice.
Wild forward Matthew Boldy has been white-hot lately, including a hat trick last time out against the Kraken on ESPN+ Hockey Night. He accomplished the hatty on just three shots, too, including a power-play goal and the game-winner.
Boldy has managed 11 goals and 15 points with a plus-10 rating in the past nine games, with two game-winning tallies. You'll have to lay 1 1/2 times your potential return on Boldy to etch his name onto the stat sheet with at least one point, but the way he is going, it seems so right. He has an apple in each of the first two meetings with the Avs this season, too.
- Matthew Boldy Over 0.5 Points (-150 at BetMGM)
Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin enters play on a nice roll, posting at least one point in seven in a row, going for three goals and eight points during the run, while racking up six goals and 18 points in 14 games in the month of March.
While he was scoreless in the most recent meeting in Minny, he had a goal and two helpers in the first meeting in mid-October. To go Over 0.5 Points (-200), you must lay twice as much as your potential return. That's a little much, but Over 0.5 Assists (+110) is a value at plus-money, as he has 16 apples in the past 17 outings overall.
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- Valeri Nichushkin Over 0.5 Assists (+110 at BetMGM)
