Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues Picks and Prediction for Thursday, October 9, 2025
Use Code SSWC In a thrilling season-opening hockey game, the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues collide inside the Enterprise Center for Central Division action in our Wild vs. Blues prediction. The Wild (45-30-7 in 2024-25) are looking to build upon last season as they lost in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. The Blues (44-30-8 last season) are looking to improve after losing in the first round of the playoffs last season. This is the first of three games against one another as they will not play against one another until March. Stay out of the box: NHL predictions for Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues, crisp and clear.
Special Improvements Needed for the Wild
The Minnesota Wild are looking to take a step in the right direction this season after finishing fourth in the Central Division last year with a 45-30-7 record. The team was able to make the postseason as a Wild Card team, but lost in the first round. Now, with coach John Hynes entering his third season with the team, they are going to be in a position where they look to get one of the division spots in the playoffs.
The offense struggled on the power play throughout last season, which was 20th in the sport at 20.9%. They will have to overcome the lower-body injury that will sideline Mats Zuccarello for at least two months, which is one player who was on the top power-play unit for the team. The team added a Stanley Cup winner in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings for Vladimir Tarasenko and while the veteran had a down season, scoring just 33 points in 80 games, he adds some experience and should be able to get a fresh start on the team’s second line.
Filip Gustavsson is expected to open the season between the pipes and had an outstanding season last year as he was 31-19-6 with a .914 save percentage and allowed 2.56 goals per game. He was able to produce similar numbers in the postseason against Vegas, but ultimately, the defense struggled on special teams. The Wild need to improve at killing penalties if they want to take that next step this upcoming season.
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Injury Report for Minnesota
- Center Nico Sturm: Back (OUT)
- Right winger Cameron Butler: Undisclosed (OUT)
- Left winger Michael Milne: Undisclosed (OUT)
- Defenseman Stevie Leskovar: Wrist (OUT)
- Right winger Mats Zuccarello: Lower Body (OUT)
- Defenseman Jonas Brodin: Upper Body (OUT)
Blues Looking to Continue Scoring Output From Last Season
The St. Louis Blues are looking to improve in the second season of coach Jim Montgomery after the team was fifth in the Central Division with a 44-30-8 record and lost in the Western Conference First Round.
The team was able to be solid on the offensive side of the ice last season as they were 13th in the sport with 3.05 goals per game. With the team looking to continue scoring well, they need to figure out how to get some more out of the roster on this side of the ice. One way they can do so as Pius Suter signed a two-year contract this offseason after scoring a career-high in goals and points.
The goaltending is going to have Jordan Binnington in the net for the opening game and he is coming off a mediocre season as he was 28-22-5 with 2.69 goals given up per game and a .900 save percentage. They need to improve as they are having defenseman Cam Fowler this season and he can be a solid defenseman off the bench.
Injury Report for St. Louis
- Left winger Milan Lucic: Lower Body (Questionable)
- Center Nick Bjugstad: Illness (Questionable)
- Center Oskar Sundqvist: Lower Body (OUT)
- Center Zach Dean: Personal (OUT)
- Defenseman Torey Krug: Ankle (OUT)
Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues Pick
Spread Pick for Wild vs. Blues
- St. Louis Blues -125 (4 units)
The St. Louis Blues are the better team and being at home will certainly give them a bit of an edge for this matchup. The Wild struggled on special teams last season and while we can expect some improvement this season, how much it will is the major question for this game. To end the preseason, the Blues had an 11-1 goal advantage in their final two games before the opening game of the regular season. I like the Blues' additions a bit more as well during the offseason by getting Suter and Fowler to improve on both sides of the ice. All in all, go with the St. Louis Blues to record the victory to begin the season.
Over/Under Pick for Wild vs. Blues
- Over 5.5 (4 units)
Simply put, the special teams can really get things going as the Wild are going to want to prove they can score with the man advantage. St. Louis improved on their offensive production as well, so they are going to be able to put pressure on the opposing defense. Neither team has shown the ability to take that step in the right direction and have a shutdown goaltender to limit the amount of shots on them that will find the back of the net. Go with over 5.5 total goals as the better bet as these teams are going to be aggressive in Game 1 of the season.
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