Dean Etheridge
Two sides trying to work their way up their respective divisions are the Minnesota Wild, and the Detroit Red Wings. The two sides meet in Minnesota on Wednesday night, and here we preview their fixture, along with our latest free NHL betting picks on the big showdown.
- Match; Minnesota Wild vs Detroit Red Wings
- Where; Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
- When; Wednesday, December 14th, 2022
- Puck Drop; 7.30 pm ET
Both these teams are just struggling to keep pace with the leaders in their respective divisions, and this is reflected in the latest betting to win the 2023 Stanley Cup. The Wild are +2800 to win their first ever cup, whilst the Red Wings are even longer in the betting, coming in at +10000.
Who are the favorites to win the 2023 Stanley Cup?
The favorites to win the 2023 Stanley Cup, as they have been for a few matches now, is the Boston Bruins. Jim Montgomery’s team is now +500 to bring the trophy back to TD Garden. The Bruins are ahead of the defending champions, the Colorado Avalanche, who after a difficult start to the new season, are now +650.
The Avalanche started the season as heavy favorites, but a crippling injury list, along with the excellent start by the Bruins, has seen them displaced as favorites with best NHL betting sites.
The Vegas Golden Knights come next at +950, and they are followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs (+1000), and the New York Rangers (+1100).
| Stanley Cup Winner Betting 2023 |  |  |  |
| Boston Bruins | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +650 | +650 | +650 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +950 | +900 | +950 |
| New Jersey Devils | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +1000 | +1000 | +950 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1400 | +1300 | +1200 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1600 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Florida Panthers | +1800 | +1800 | +1700 |
| Calgary Flames | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| New York Rangers | +2200 | +1900 | +2000 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +2200 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Dallas Stars | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Winnipeg Jets | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
In conference betting futures, the Wild are +1200 to win the Western Conference, with the Red Wings at +6600 to win the Eastern.
It doesn’t fare much better for either side in the divisional winner futures either. The Wild are +500 fourth favorites to win the Central, with the Red Wings fifth in the betting at +8000 to win the Atlantic.
The above odds are provided by BetOnline. You can read more about them, including their latest new customers offer that can be used for NHL betting, at our BetOnline sportsbook review.
Wild struggling to keep pace with the Jets and Stars
The Wild and the Avalanche are desperately trying to hold onto the Jets and the Stars, with the top two starting to open up a gap at the top of the Central Division over Dean Evason’s team, and last season’s Stanley Cup winners.
In their last ten matches, the Wild’s record reads 7-3-0, and they’re on a winning streak of two. Their overall record this season is 15-11-2, and they have 32 points from 28 matches.
Above them, the Jets and the Stars have started to open up a bit of a gap. And just for good measure, the Wild also have the Colorado Avalanche for company in the chasing pack. In their most recent match, the Wild defeated the Oilers 2-1 on Monday night.
Making Monday Funday a thing! 👏
Join us for more action on Wednesday ⬇️#mnwild x @TRIAOrthopedics
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 13, 2022
The Red Wings need to string a run of wins together
The Red Wings are trying to keep pace with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division, who themselves are just about clinging on to the coattails of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins.
So at a time when the Red Wings could do with a run of wins to push themselves closer to the Bruins and Maple Leafs, they instead find themselves traveling in the opposite direction. Last night’s 1-0 home defeat to the Hurricanes was their third successive loss. They are now 4-4-2 in their last ten, and have an overall record of 13-9-6 this season.
Final.
In Minnesota tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/TRDdlVqYF1
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 14, 2022
The defeats aren’t catastrophic to be fair, as they have been to top quality opposition. The first loss of the sequence was 5-1 away to the Panthers, and the second defeat was 3-2 away to the Stars – a match which required overtime for the Stars to force the win. So disappointing, yes, but not a total disaster.
Wild vs Red Wings Betting
With the form of both sides as it is, it’s no surprise to see the best NHL betting sites make Minnesota the clear favorites to win this matchup. On the moneyline, the Wild is -200, with the Red Wings at +175.
Moving onto the handicap line, and it’s the Red Wings who are getting the +1.5 points advantage. This makes Detroit the favorites at -135, with the Wild at +115.
Finally, the total points line, and the marker is set at 6.5 points. There’s a split in the betting on this market, as over 6.5 is +100, and under 6.5 goals is -120.
Betting Picks
This will be the second match in successive nights for the Red Wings, whilst the Wild last played on Monday. The Wild are clearly in the better form of the two sides, and it would be mad to back against them on the back of all the evidence.
So can the Wild beat the handicap spread, or do we play safe and back them on the moneyline? There have been some close calls for Minnesota lately, but I think with the extra days rest, it’s worth taking the risk and the better odds, and I make the Wild to win on the handicap my first betting pick.
For my total points pick, I’m playing safe. I’m not happy backing at -120, but I can’t see any evidence from the form of late to justify backing over 6.5 points, so I make under 6.5 total points my second betting pick.
