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Free NHL Pick: Bruins vs. Wild Betting Lines & Preview

Bruins vs Wild Pick

NHL betting action sees the Boston Bruins take on the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, December 17th at Xcel Energy Center. Cappers Picks provides free NHL handicapping all season long.

It’s been a struggle lately for the B’s, long considered among the class of the Eastern Conference.

NHL Predictions

Boston vs Minnesota
Date/Time: Wednesday, Dec. 17 2014, 8 pm EST
Venue: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul MN
Broadcast: NBC
Boston +115, Minnesota -145
Over/Under: 5
***2014 BONUSES***
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Crucial injuries have taken a toll and the team is coming of back-to-back shootout losses while Boston has correspondingly dropped in the standings.

The home team might spot some low-hanging fruit Wednesday night in the Twin Cities.

Both teams are trying to keep their heads above water in their respective divisions. Boston and Minnesota both sit at 33 points, good for sixth in Boston’s Atlantic division and fifth in the Central, where the Wild dwell.

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Ultimately, there are many strong teams performing well in the NHL right now. Minny is coming off a 5-3 loss to the omnipotent Chicago Blackhawks, so the Wild will need to keep pace with strong teams like Chi-town, St. Louis and Nashville by grabbing a win versus a slumping Bruins club.

Boston bell-cow defenseman Zdeno Chara is back from injury, but not yet 100 per cent. Goal scorer David Krejci has also been out for an extended length of time. Two crucial components of Cup winning have derailed Boston’s hopes so far in 2014.

For success, Boston must get back to what it does well: Stopping pucks and playing nasty. With pitbull Milan Lucic lurking around and league pest Brad Marchand raising blood pressures, that is the essence of what makes the Bruins a tricky opponent.

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As far as Minnesota is concerned, the Wild have missed role player like Matt Cooke, Ryan Carter and blueliner Jared Spurgeon. The latter has been ill, but he hopes to play Wednesday night at home.

The Wild have, statistically, been a very good team apart from a dismal power play unit that ranks 27th in the league (firing at only a 12.6% clip). Minnesota has some savvy players one would typically find on a playoff team, which makes you like its chances in the long term.

Zach Parise, Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Suter and Jonas Brodin all bring something substantial to the table in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

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Conversely, one can’t discount the difference getting a healthy Krejci back in the lineup will make for the Bruins. The B’s have egg on their face after dealing young superstar Tyler Seguin, who’s only been leading the league in scoring the bulk of the season.

Boston has jettisoned some stars over the recent past, with players like Seguin and Toronto’s Phil Kessel ripping it up in different locales. Boston must use its team concept to overcome that if it hopes to be a factor in the postseason this season and moving forward.

I like Minnesota to win at home, and keep the Bruins and their bandwagon fans and their head brass scratching their heads.

Minnesota 3, Boston 2

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By James Hayes

James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!