NHL Betting: Minnesota Wild vs. Buffalo Sabres Odds & Picks: October 23rd 2008

Minnesota Wild (-125) NHL Odds - Thursday October 23rd ‘08 8:05p

This is an intriguing non-conference battle between two teams that have yet to lose a game in regulation time this season, as the perfect 4-0 Minnesota Wild host the just about perfect 5-0-1 Buffalo Sabres.

What makes the Wild record more impressive is the fact that they have not played at home since opening night, as they just swept a three-game southeastern road trip, beating the Atlanta Thrashers, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. This is certainly an encouraging sign for a team that struggled on the road last year.

The Wild are winning with their trapping defense as usual, allowing just 1.75 goals per game to this point. Niklas Backstrom has been fantastic between the pipes, with a sparkling 1.72 GAA and a very nice save percentage of 94.2 percent.

Now granted, the Sabres are allowing just 1.50 goals per game themselves, but they suffered a key blow when defenseman and Captain Craig Rivet went down with a knee injury vs. the Bruins last game. He earned his status as team captain by being the best defenseman on the Sabres back line, and his loss becomes more magnified in what could very well become a defensive struggle here.

With that said, look for the Wild to sneak a few pucks in the net en route to a nice home win.

NHL Betting Free Pick: Minnesota Wild -125 - Courtesy of LT Profits