The NHL season continues this week as the Minnesota Wild make the trip north of the border to take on the Montreal Canadiens.
The Wild have had a strong campaign so far this season, and come into this game with a record of 28-13-9 record. The Canadiens, on the other hand, had a difficult campaign last year but have improved dramatically this year, and come into this game with a 27-15-7 record.
We’ll break down the match-up between the sides and provide you with our best free NHL betting picks, as we try to earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the ice.
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Montreal started their season with a surprise 5-2 defeat against the Toronto Maple Leafs, before winning eight of their next ten games to end October with an 8-3 record as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings (5-1), Chicago Blackhawks (3-2), Buffalo Sabres (4-2), and Vancouver Canucks (4-3), while they also claimed overtime wins against the Seattle Kraken (x2), Nashville Predators, and Calgary Flames.
As we entered November the team continued their good form, beating the Ottawa Senators in overtime, before then losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime and the New Jersey Devils in a shootout to halt their momentum. That sparked a run of five defeats in their next seven. But Montreal got back to winning ways with three consecutive victories against Toronto, Utah and Vegas, before ending the month with a defeat to Colorado.
Despite losing three of their first five games in December, they managed to bounced back by winning six of their following ten games, ending 2025 with a 21-12-6 record.
So far in January, the Canadiens have gone 6-3-1, including four wins from their first five games of the new year against the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers. They have since gone 2-2-1, with a victory over Ottawa last time out meaning they come into this game on the back of a win and three days of rest.
Minnesota’s season started in terrible fashion, as despite a 5-0 win over the St Louis Blues on the opening day, the Wild fell to a nine defeats in their following 11 games in October, including three overtime defeats against the Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets.
However, what followed has been one of the most incredible runs of form we have seen in the NHL this season, and in a long time. The Wild defeat Vancouver and Nashville to open November, before defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes. But after that, Minnesota only failed to win seven more games before 2025 came to an end.
That included seven-game winning runs in November and December, as the year ended with an excellent 24-10-7 record.
So far in January the team’s momentum hasn’t quite carried over, but they did start 2026 with a win over the Anaheim Ducks. Heading into this game, Minnesota have won two in a row, defeating the Buffalo Sabres in overtime before a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs just last night.
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The Canadiens are the pick for this home game over the Minnesota Wild, and a large reason for that is the fact they come into this game on the back of three days without a game.
Montreal come into this game with the fourth-best offense in the NHL this season, as they average 3.43 goals scored per game, while they have the seventh-best defense when it comes to goals allowed, with their average of just 2.86 goals per game.
Minnesota, on the other hand, have the 15th-best offense in the league with an average of 3.16 goals scored per game, and only the 26th-best ranked defense, allowing an average of 3.35 goals per game.
When the teams go head-to-head, there is a huge swing in the Wild’s favour, where they have won nine of the last ten meetings between the teams. Montreal have only managed 1.6 goals per game on average in those meetings, where Minnesota have managed 3.7 goals per game. That’s a major difference.
However, Montreal are 13-10-1 at home this season, while the Wild are 13-6-6 on the road, and the Canadiens are in a much better space right now, especially when you consider their performance in their most recent win over the Senators in overtime.
There is great value on the rested home team to claim the victory, and it feels like the safest bet to take.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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