NHL Wednesday best bets: Wild to best struggling Blackhawks
We have five games on the docket before the All-Star break.
While that's not a lot to work with, I see plenty of value on the board. Let's comb through it with today's best bets.
Oilers (+100) @ Capitals (-120)
The Edmonton Oilers are coming off a disappointing loss to the Ottawa Senators. Don't let that fool you, though: They're playing pretty good hockey right now. Across all game states, the Oilers controlled 54.28% of the expected goals over the last 10 games, good for the NHL's eighth-highest total.
With Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins healthy again - as well as Evander Kane joining the fray - there's reason to believe the Oilers can sustain their strong underlying numbers.
Edmonton's depth up front hasn't been matched at any point this season, which will serve it well Wednesday against a very strong team in the Washington Capitals. While the Oilers generally aren't a side you like to target on home soil, this is a good spot.
Washington is in the latter half of a back-to-back. It played a taxing overtime game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, which came at a cost. Vitek Vanecek was forced out of the game early due to injury, and replacement Ilya Samsonov was forced to face 45 shots. That's an insane workload to handle, especially if he needs to start again tonight.
Back the Oilers as road 'dogs.
Bet: Oilers (+100)
Wild (-165) @ Blackhawks (+140)
The Minnesota Wild are getting healthy again, which is a scary proposition for the rest of the league.
They've posted a remarkable 8-1-1 record over the last 10 games and are full value for their success. In that span, they controlled 54.25% of the expected goals at five-on-five. That sandwiches them between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes - pretty good company to keep.
Things are not going as well for the Chicago Blackhawks. Their share of the expected goals sits below 46% over the last 10 games, with the lowly Arizona Coyotes their closest comparable. Not great.
Minnesota already beat the Blackhawks twice this season. The Wild were undermanned in those games, but that didn't matter much: They outscored Chicago 9-4 and won the Grade A chance battle 21-11 in aggregate.
I expect the Wild to best the slumping Blackhawks once again - and inside 60 minutes.
Bet: Wild in regulation (-115)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.