Wild Vs. Blues: Predictions
Apr 11, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) lays on the ice with the puck trapped under him as a crowd gathers in front of the net during the third period of the NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at Scottrade Center. The Blues won the game 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
After a fantastic first night of the NHL Playoffs, the Minnesota Wild are about to take their turn on the main stage. Game One of their series against the St. Louis Blues is tonight, with the drop of the puck at 8:30 CDT on Fox Sports North and NBC Sports Network.
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The Blues won the Central Division and were nearly the top overall seed in the Western Conference. The Wild meanwhile have the best record in the NHL since mid-January and their acquisition of Devan Dubnyk. The Blues are looking for redemption after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of last season’s playoffs. The Wild are looking to build on last year, when they pushed the Blackhawks to six games in their second round match-up.
It looks to me to be a very even match-up, but I was curious as to the opinions of the NHL prognosticators across the web. Let’s take a look:
- At Sports Illustrated, all four prognosticators have the Wild beating the Blues, and a couple have the Wild advancing to the Western Conference Final.
- Nicholas Goss with NESN has the Wild winning in seven games.
- ESPN is decidedly less bullish on the Wild’s chances, with only one Wild win prediction. Every single person predicted a six or seven game series though.
- Timothy Rapp with our friends at Bleacher Report also has the Wild winning in seven.
I’ve been thinking about my own series prediction, and I have been going back and forth a bit. Not on who I believe will win but on the series length. I think after the disappointments of the last three seasons, the Blues will be an extremely difficult out. That said, this feels like it could be the Wild’s year, and the Wild have been on fire for months. My prediction:
Wild in Seven