BIG AL's SLAPSHOT CLUB: NHL BLOWOUT WINNER!

At 9:35 pm, our selection is on the Minnesota Wild over the Anaheim Ducks.  Despite making the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons, the Wild have very little to show for their regular season success.  In fact, you have to go back to 2015 to find the last time this team won a post-season series. That is the main reason there was a bit of a revamping after the 2019-2020 abbreviated campaign that ended with a loss to Vancouver in the qualifying round.  Out are a pair of veteran Centers (Mikko Koivu and Eric Staal) and in comes veteran Marcus Johansson (trade from Buffalo) to take over the top spot there.  The Wild also parted ways with G Devan Dubnyk and replaced him with Cam Talbot who signed on for three years.  Whether or not these changes (and there were others) make a major difference come post-season remains to be seen but the team already seems to be playing with a bit of a chip on its shoulder.  That chip could come in handy tonight as the Wild try to avenge a difficult 1-0 loss to this Ducks team on Monday despite winning the shots battle, 34-27.  Anaheim is a poor 5-15 (-11 games on the money line) in its last 20 off a home win by one goal.  Take Minnesota.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.