The Pittsburgh Penguins continue their road trip with a game against the Wild Welcome back to NHL Predictions here on Last Word On Hockey! Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for all the NHL’s games. In tonight’s matchup, the Minnesota Wild host the Pittsburgh Penguins in a cross-conference game.
NHL Predictions
Minnesota Wild vs Pittsburgh Penguins
2025-26 Head-to-Head: Wild 0-0 Penguins
Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
TV: FDSNNO; Sportsnet-Pittsburgh; FDSNWIX; Sportsnet+
Featuring a couple of NHL Superstars Sidney Crosby and the Penguins take on Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild, in an important game for both teams.
The Penguins Story
Pittsburgh’s strong start to the season continues. Expected to be near the bottom of the league, the Penguins have strung together a 7-2-2 record. A large part of this success has come from fantastic team play, along with the Penguins’ best players acting as their best players. On the second half of a back-to-back, Pittsburgh battled back down 2-1 against the Philadelphia Flyers. They were able to force overtime before losing in the shootout. The loss, however, extended the team’s point streak to seven games. In these seven games, the team has gone 5-0-2. This record has propelled Pittsburgh to a tie for the top spot in the league with a handful of other teams. Against a struggling Minnesota club, the Penguins have a great opportunity to continue racking up points.
The “Mutant Line” of Evgeni Malkin, Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau continues to truck on. Brazeau scored his sixth of the season against the Flyers, while Mantha assisted on it. The Penguins’ top six have been a large driver of offence through the start of the season. Through 11 games, each member of the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin line has scored at least eight points, with Brazeau, Crosby and Malkin all above a point-per-game. Defenceman Erik Karlsson has also begun producing. Following a slow start, the Swedish star has scored six points over his past five games, with nine points in 11 games overall. Pittsburgh is getting production from its stars, but will need its depth to pitch in to help beat the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild Story
The Minnesota Wild have had a tough start to the season. Following a 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in the shootout, the Wild currently sit 3-5-3. With just nine points, the Wild sit on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in just over ten percent of the way through the 2025-26 season. Offence and defence have both been issues for the Wild. Minnesota sits 28th in the league in goals-against, just three goals short of having allowed the most in the league.
A large reason for this is their 62.5% penalty kill, a penalty kill so ineffective it ranks last in the NHL. Minnesota has only fared slightly better offensively. The organization is currently tied for 19th best in goals-for, with 30 goals scored through 11 games. 5v5 action has been the biggest issue offensively, as the Wild boast the league’s best power play, scoring at a 31.8% clip.
Like Pittsburgh, Minnesota’s best players have been their best players to start the year. Franchise star Kirill Kaprizov leads the charge in scoring. Following a record-breaking extension in the offseason, Kaprizov’s quickly gotten to work, scoring six goals and 15 points through 11 games. The ever-reliant Matt Boldy has scored 12 points in 11 games, while Marco Rossi, coming off his own contract drama this past offseason, has ten points in ten games. Rookie Zeev Buium has been an integral addition to the Wild’s defence group. The former 12th overall pick in 2024, Buium has recorded two goals and eight points from the blueline through his first 11 games in the NHL. Although Minnesota has the scoring figured out, it’ll need to tighten up the defensive side of things against a Pittsburgh team that’s been able to score at will at points of this young season.
NHL Predictions
The Penguins have been struggling defensively, but nowhere near as much as the Wild. Boasting a top-ten power play and offensive weapons like Crosby, Malkin and Karlsson, expect the Penguins to get back in the win column in this game.
NHL Prediction: Penguins win 5-4.
Prop Bet for the Night
An excellent prop bet is the total goals over 8, with odds of +350. Pittsburgh and Minnesota have been high-scoring teams to start the year, while the Wild have struggled to keep the puck out of their own net. Expect a high-scoring game between these teams as a result.
Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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The post NHL Predictions: October 30th Pittsburgh Penguins vs Minnesota Wild appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.