Minnesota Wild vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction: The Wild have been gradually improving

Prediction for the NHL Minnesota Wild vs Buffalo Sabres match which will take place on February 18th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Minnesota has no intention of dropping out of the Cup race! The current regular season was awful for the Wild. They were in the group of the league outsiders, but the change of the head coach cheered up the players. John Hynes replaced Dean Evason, who began understanding the team's problems. Before the All-Star break, they had a great stretch, winning four out of five games, then lost two in a row, and now they're on a great run, beating Chicago 2:1, Pittsburgh 3:2, Vegas 5:3, and Arizona 3:1. Minnesota is 11th in the Western Conference.

Buffalo, unfortunately, will have a tough time getting into the playoffs. A year ago, they had every chance to be in the Cup race for the first time in a long time, but then they lacked the little things to solve the main problem. Unfortunately, their results in the current regular season are much worse. From the beginning of the championship, they started to lose a lot of points. After that, the situation became more stable, but it was necessary to have long winning streaks. Nothing of the sort is happening. In their last eight games, the Sabres have five losses and three wins, good enough for 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Minnesota and Buffalo are the teams that should have been expected to fight for Cup spots this season, but they are far from the playoffs. It is especially true for the Sabres, who have yet to make any severe strides in their game, but the Wild have been gradually improving since the firing of Dean Evason. In their last nine meetings, the Wild have won seven times, all in regulation. The Wild are favorites here and in the upcoming matchup, as points are vital for them, and the opponent is very suitable for their set.

Minnesota has recently made noticeable progress, which was possible because the Wild have become much more responsible in defending their goals. They are not always perfect on offense, but they defend their possessions very well. In the last six games, they have only had 30 shots on goal (an average of 5.00 per game), a modest result by NHL standards.