[Razor3880]

Tonight's matchup will feature a battle of unfamiliar foes. The Ottawa Senators will make their first trip to St. Paul since 2010 to face a Minnesota Wild team that are similarly fighting to stay in the playoff picture. Both teams have found themselves in a decent groove in the new year so far, and will be looking to carry their momentum into tonight.

Let me begin by saying that it has been extremely rare to see a 5.5 total with this Minnesota Wild team this season. In fact, until this game, the totals involving Wild games have been set at 5 for 18 straight games. There are two main reasons that this one is set at 5.5. The first would be the simple fact that both backups are in net today (Minnesota is actually on their third string netminder). The second would be because the Ottawa Senators generally take part in high scoring games.

Let's break this one down.

When a run and gun team meets a trap team, the game usually favors the style of the defense unless there are early errors leading to multiple goals by the aggressor. In this case, Minnesota will be the team on the defense right from the get go. If they are able to work Ottawa into a careless mistake and capitalize, there is a good chance the Wild will hang on for the win.

Minnesota saw it's share of high scoring games during the holiday season, which just so happened to coincide with the loss of their red hot goaltender Josh Harding at the time. Things have settled back to normal a little bit since then, and actually taken a turn in the other direction, as they are now without their two best offensive weapons. Minnesota has also found a gem in their current third string Goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who has been marvelous only allowing one goal in his two starts combined. He seems to have picked up where Harding left off, and this allows the team to operate with confidence in their system. To be honest, Minnesota will realize that they will be unable to compete with Ottawa's offense with their current lineup, so they will play the style that they know the best.

Ottawa may prefer the run and gun, but they have also proven that they can keep the puck out of the net when they play with structure. If the Senators do not come in with a responsible approach, they may learn soon enough when Minny scores that first goal.

When at the Excel Energy Center, expect to play according to Wild hockey. Teams usually find themselves on the outside of a battle fort when entering Minnesota's building, and very few have been successful at breaking in and taking two points. The Wild play with incredible structure at home and will continue to do so tonight especially following a shutout win.

Essentially, this game will be similar to an attempted invasion which both sides are fully aware of the situation. On top of that, the fact that both backups are in is completely irrelevant, considering that both goalies tonight have been very reliable in their starts so far and it is a team system that will prevail.

PLAY: Wild/Sens UNDER 5.5 -135

[RollinDo]

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