Minnesota at Vancouver

Vancouver is hot and Minnesota is not. So why do I like the Wild here? Minnesota has won six of hte last ten meetings between these two teams here in Vancouver. As a +145 dog last game, they put up four goals vs. Vancouver on way to the win. The Wild defense is very tough, allowing just 2.3 goals per game on the road this season - better than Vancouver at home. Despite their recent winning streak, the fact remains that the Canucks are a .500 team and in my opinion, shouldn't be laying this kind of wood. They have a losing record vs. losing teams this season (13-16). And they have been bad in revenge mode having gone 17-29 over the past two seasons when seeking same-season revenge. I like Minnesota's chances here. I also like the OVER. Vancouver is 20-9 OVER the past two seasons after the mid-way point. In their last four games (eight total), neither team has posted an OVER. That's driven this line down to 5 and provides value on the OVER.