Minnesota at Vancouver

This is a Western Conference neutral-site playoff opener in Edmonton between a pair of evenly matched teams. Minnesota has one fewer victory than Vancouver and is 30-22 away from home against teams that kill 17.5% or less of their opponents' power plays. Vancouver is favored, but they are #20 in the NHL in goals allowed, giving up 33.3 shots on goal, the third-most defensively. The Canucks will start Jacob Markstrom in net, the first playoff start of his 10-year NHL career. Markstrom had knee surgery in February that forced him to miss Vancouver's last eight regular-season games. Minnesota has won two of the last three against Vancouver, and the betting value is on the Wild to win the game or lose by one goal. Play Minnesota on the puckline.