The NHL continues to push towards the playoff season with the Minnesota Wild taking on the Winnipeg Jets in a big game at the MTS Centre.
Two of the top three teams in the Central Division so far this season go head-to-head in a big game as they look to push forward to win the championship ahead of the Dallas Stars, considering their already stronger win record.
We'll take a look at the two teams and break down the game while giving you our best free NHL picks for the game to try and earn you some extra cash while you watch a great game of ice hockey.
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NHL match information
- Winnipeg Jets vs Minnesota Wild
- Wednesday, March 8th, 2023
- MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Canada
- 19:30 ET
Winnipeg Jets season so far
The Winnipeg Jets have had a strong season so far in 2022/23, with their record at the time of writing sitting at 36-25-2.
The season started back in October with the Jets going 5-3-1, opening with a victory over the New York Rangers before a defeat to the Dallas Stars in their second game. They ended the month with three wins in a row before an overtime defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights.
November was a strong month too, going 9-3 across the month after opening up with a big run of five wins in six fixtures. Their only defeat came against the Calgary Flames.
That month also saw these two teams come up against each other, but it was the Wild who claimed the huge victory as 6-1 winners in their home arena.
December wasn't as successful, going 9-7 for the month including a run of four defeats in five games at one point which certainly didn't help them in their pursuit of the top spot in the central division.
January started better, winning six of seven games to open the month before losing five of their next seven. February really saw them struggle as they had their first losing record for a month, going 3-5-1 with all those defeats coming in a spell of just six games.
They've now won their last two games, beating the Edmonton Oilers and the San Jose Sharks coming into this game.
Minnesota Wild season so far
The Wild have had a near identical season to the Jets this season, with their regular season record standing at 36-21-6 to be behind the Stars in the standings.
The season started poorly in October with Minnesota losing their first three games against New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche. They then won four of their next six games, including against Montreal, Ottawa and Chicago.
November was just as close for them, going 6-5-1 over the month. They lost back to back games against Seattle and Los Angeles without scoring a single point in a not fantastic run.
December saw a major improvement in their form, as they went on a great run of 11-4 including a three-game winning run to open the month up, before a huge run of six wins in a row and eight wins in ten fixtures too for a real boost to their record.
January wasn't the best, going 6-4-2, including three home defeats in a row against Carolina, Florida and Tampa Bay.
February was slightly better, going 7-4-2, which included a big run of six wins in their final seven games of the month, although it included two shootout wins and two overtime wins. The Wild have opened the month of March with two consecutive wins against Vancouver and Calgary, before defeat to Calgary last night.
Taking the point.#GoJetsGo | https://t.co/CCG87Y2hsY | #ad pic.twitter.com/kXVcC3aucz
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) March 7, 2023
NHL picks: Stats and trends
So far this season, these two teams are incredibly well matched up.
When it comes to scoring Winnipeg only just edge their rivals out with an average of 3.13 goals per game while Minnesota have averaged 2.89 goals per game.
They manage to do it from fewer shots per game too, with the Jets usually taking 30.1 shots per game while the Wild average 31.35 shots per game. They also average more goals in each of the three periods of the game.
Minnesota average 0.7 goals in the first period of games compared to Winnipeg's 0.81, while the second period sees Minnesota score 1 goal per game and Winnipeg average 1.11, and Minnesota average 1.02 goals in the third period compared to Winnipeg's 1.08.
Defensively the Jets concede 2.79 goals per game from an average of 31.14 shots per game, while the Wild concede 2.67 goals per game from 30 shots per game.
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NHL picks: Back Minnesota Wild on Moneyline
There isn't much between these sides at all, but the result when they met earlier in the season is a big factor plus the fact that the Wild will be coming into this game off the back of a double header.
They're currently above them in the standings because they've been a great team, but the 6-1 win showed a stylistic approach that favors them more against the Jets.
Winnipeg are more than capable of claiming the win, but Minnesota have won four of their last five heading into this game while Winnipeg have lost four of their last five before this.
History and form are on their side, so back the Wild to get the job done.
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