BEST LINES: Pinnacle +162 Bet365 +165 SportsInteraction +155 5DIMES +163

Posted at 3:00 PM EST. 

8:05 PM EST. OT included. The Minnesota Wild very simply cannot be priced in this range. The Wild are coming off a 3-1 loss to Nashville in a game they were outshot in 43-31 and out-Corsied in too. In fact, the Wild have lost the puck possession time in seven of their past nine games. Against top-10 competition this season, Minnesota is 2-6 and it is 4-7 against top-16 competition. It’s not that the Wild played poorly against Washington because they didn’t. They created some quality chances but ran into some hot goaltending. The bigger issue is that they’ve rarely played a full 60 minutes of quality hockey. On most nights, Minnesota is spending too much time in its own end or getting dominated for stretches at a time.

The Devils are 11-5-3 and holding first place in a stacked Metropolitan Division. After the Devils acquired Taylor Hall in a blockbuster trade last summer, GM Ray Shero went right back to work this offseason. He won the Draft Lottery and was afforded the opportunity to select Nico Hischier with the top overall pick. He followed that selection with a series of deft moves, prying Marcus Johansson (currently out with a concussion) away from a cap-strapped Washington team and winning the sweepstakes for Hobey Baker-winning defenseman Will Butcher.

Hischier, Butcher, and Jesper Bratt make up a trio of very exciting rookies that have all burst onto the NHL scene and have immediately helped make New Jersey a respectable team for the first time since 2012. This team is quick, they’re dangerous and they have solid goaltending too. However, the Devils have lost two straight so the market figures that they’re just going back to their losing ways or that they have greatly overachieved thus far. The Devils pace is probably unsustainable but they’ve lost two in a row and they’re hungry. On Minnesota’s best day, New Jersey would not be an easy out and with 25% of the season already gone, there isn’t a single reason that Minnesota warrants being this big a price against the superior team. Win or lose, this is a grossly inflated price.

Open an account today at Pinnacle Sports and take advantage of their -104 style pricing on sides and totals, which is 60% better than other sportsbooks.