Chicago Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild Betting Odds, Analysis, NHL Preview

The Minnesota Wild (35-12-5) are out to prove they are a much different team this season under head coach Bruce Boudreau, who joined them after a fairly successful five-year run with the Anaheim Ducks.

The Wild will be going for their third straight win on Wednesday when they host their divisional nemesis in the Chicago Blackhawks (32-17-5) as home betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.

Prior to last season, Minnesota had been eliminated by Chicago in the playoffs three consecutive years before head coach Mike Yeo was fired after the team lost 13 of 14 during the 2015-16 campaign.

Enter Boudreau, who also saw his Anaheim club fall to the Blackhawks in the 2015 Western Conference Final before he was let go after the Ducks fell to the Nashville Predators in the first round last postseason.

So far, the change has been good for both the Wild and Boudreau, as they have the second-highest goal differential in the league behind only the Washington Capitals.

Minnesota has also won the only meeting this season against Chicago, taking its eighth straight in the regular-season series dating back to 2015, according to the OddsShark NHL Database, with a 3-2 victory at the United Center on January 15. However, it is worth noting the Blackhawks swept the Wild in the second round of the 2015 playoffs.

Lately, Chicago has struggled a bit, but the preseason favorite to win the Western Conference will get an excellent chance to prove itself as the best team in the Central Division over the next five weeks with three meetings versus the Wild during that stretch.

Like their opponent, the Blackhawks have also won two in a row following their second three-game losing streak of the year. They continue their six-game road trip at Minnesota after beating the Arizona Coyotes and Dallas Stars by a combined score of 9-6.

Totals bettors should probably stay away from this matchup considering the past three meetings have all resulted in pushes on five goals. But three of the previous four games between the teams before that all went over the total, averaging 6.5 goals.