Prediction: Minnesota Wild VS Pittsburgh Penguins 2025-11-21

Penguins vs. Wild: A Tale of Power Plays and Penalty Killers
The Pittsburgh Penguins, armed with a power play so lethal it could make a magician weep, host the Minnesota Wild in a clash of hockey’s “Who’s On First?” and “Why’s My Penalty Kill Broken?” The odds favor Pittsburgh, but let’s not let the mathy numbers dull the drama. Let’s dive into the chaos.

Parsing the Odds: Penguins as Favorites, Wild as a Sieve
The Penguins (-141) are the clear favorites here, with implied probabilities hovering around 58% (based on decimal odds). The Wild (+90) sit at 47%, meaning if you bet $100 on Minnesota, you’d profit $90 if they somehow pull off a miracle. The total goals line is set at 6.0, with the over priced at -110 (roughly 52% implied). Given Pittsburgh’s 3.3 goals per game and Minnesota’s porous 28th-ranked penalty kill, this feels like a recipe for a shootout between two teams with “meh” defenses.

Injuries: A Russian Doll of Absences
Both teams are playing musical chairs with their lineups, but the Penguins’ injuries are less catastrophic. Pittsburgh is missing Rickard Rakell, Justin Brazeau, and Filip Hallander, but Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are healthy, which is like having LeBron and Durant on your team—even if they’re playing with a bunch of guys named “Sergei.” The Wild, meanwhile, are missing Marco Rossi, Zach Bogosian, and Vladimir Tarasenko, among others. Their injury report reads like a Russian nesting doll: open one injury, find five more.

Minnesota’s biggest weakness? Their penalty kill, which ranks 28th in the league. Pittsburgh’s power play? A well-oiled machine at 34.1%, good for 1st in the NHL. It’s like sending a toddler to fight a sumo wrestler—except the toddler’s name is “Penalty Kill,” and the sumo wrestler just won the World’s Strongest Man.

Recent Form: Wild’s Hot Streak vs. Penguins’ “We’re Due” Energy
Minnesota is riding a 6-game point streak (5-0-1), including a franchise-record 10 straight games scoring first. Their offense, led by Kirill Kaprizov (24 points) and Matthew Boldy (22 points), is clicking, and goalie Jesper Wallstedt has been a revelation. But let’s not forget: Wallstedt’s .926 save percentage is great… until you face a team that scores on 12% of their shots (Pittsburgh’s shooting percentage).

The Penguins, meanwhile, are coming off a 4-0 shutout of Nashville but have lost two in a row. They’re the NHL’s third-best in goal differential (+15), but their recent play feels like a car with one working tire—they’re limping, but they’ll get there before you do.

Humorous Spin: Penguins vs. Wild, or “Why Your Team Lost to a Power Play”
The Wild’s penalty kill is so bad, it’s like asking a toddler to defend a bank vault. Pittsburgh’s power play? A symphony of precision, with Crosby and Malkin conducting the chaos. Imagine the Penguins’ power play as a laser, and the Wild’s penalty kill as a fog machine—you know where the laser’s going, and the fog’s just there to make you cry.

And let’s not forget the Penguins’ rookie goalie, Sergei Murashov, who’s earned his first NHL win. He’s like a penguin trying to learn how to fly—awkward, but somehow effective.

Prediction: Penguins Win, but Not Without Drama
Final Score: Penguins 4, Wild 2
Why? Because Minnesota’s penalty kill is a sieve, Pittsburgh’s power play is a jackhammer, and the Wild’s recent hot streak is about to meet a cold, hard power play. The over/under is 6 goals, but with Pittsburgh’s offense and Minnesota’s defense, “over 6.5” is a sneaky play.

Bet: Penguins -1.5 (+290)
Yes, the line is steep, but with Pittsburgh’s power play and Minnesota’s penalty kill, this feels like a “lay the points” spot. And if you’re feeling spicy, take the over 7.5 goals at +176. It’s like betting on a popcorn machine—you know it’s going to explode, you just don’t know when.

In the end, this game is a masterclass in why you shouldn’t trust a team with a 28th-ranked penalty kill to defend against a top-tier power play. The Penguins win, but not without a few Wild moments.

Created: Nov. 21, 2025, 3:38 p.m. GMT

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