Minnesota Wild vs Chicago Blackhawks Picks and Predictions January 27th 2026

The Chicago Blackhawks hit the road for the moms’ trip and get a tough stop Tuesday, January 27, 2026, against the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul. Puck drop is 8:00 PM ET on ESPN+. Chicago is 21-23-8 and still searching for consistency, while Minnesota is 29-14-10 and sitting near the top of the Central even though the last couple weeks have been more choppy than dominant.

Chicago is coming off a 5-1 home loss to Florida and now has to travel into a building where Minnesota can tilt the ice with pace and volume. The Wild are also in a bounce-back mindset after a 4-3 overtime loss to Florida, and they just got Matt Boldy back in the lineup. This feels like one of those matchups where the talent gap can show up quickly if the underdog isn’t clean with the puck.

Teuvo Teravainen returning is the big Chicago angle. If he’s truly back on Connor Bedard’s wing, the Blackhawks have a better chance to create enough offense to hang around, even if they’re still taking on water defensively at times.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Minnesota Wild Odds

These are the current betting lines, and bettors should always monitor updated latest NHL odds leading up to puck drop.

Team	Moneyline	Puck Line	Total
Chicago Blackhawks	+200	+1.5 (-125)	O 6.5 (+110)
Minnesota Wild	-245	-1.5 (+105)	U 6.5 (-130)

Chicago Blackhawks Betting Form

Chicago’s recent stretch is basically a reminder that this team still lives game-to-game on goaltending and whether Bedard’s line can generate enough to keep them within striking distance. The shot volume can disappear for long stretches, and that’s usually when you see the penalties and defensive-zone time stack up. The upside is that their special teams have been more competitive than the overall record suggests, especially the penalty kill, which can matter a lot as a big underdog.

Teravainen potentially changes the way Chicago plays five-on-five. Bedard doesn’t need help seeing the ice, but he does benefit from a winger who can make the second play, settle pucks, and keep possessions alive instead of turning every shift into a one-and-done rush. If you want the quick team snapshot for totals and split trends, start with Chicago Blackhawks stats and results and work from there.

Injuries still matter, and timing matters too. If Teravainen is active, it raises Chicago’s scoring floor a bit, but you still want to track who is missing on the blue line and in the crease before betting derivatives. Keep an eye on the Chicago Blackhawks injury report before puck drop.

Minnesota Wild Betting Form

Minnesota is still winning more often than not, but the profile has been less smooth lately. They’ve had a few games where the defensive details slip, and suddenly you’re sweating a team that is priced like a heavyweight. The offensive ceiling is real though. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy can turn one neutral-zone mistake into a high-danger look in a hurry, and the Wild power play is good enough that you really do not want to gift them multiple chances.

Boldy’s return is important because it gives Minnesota another creator who can drive play without Kaprizov on the ice. That helps their depth lines, and it also matters for puck line bettors because Minnesota is more likely to extend leads when they can keep rolling waves. If you’re tracking home splits, recent scoring, and goalie usage, Minnesota Wild schedule and stats lays it out cleanly.

The Wild do have some injury noise, particularly on the back end, and that can impact matchups and penalty kill pairings. Monitor the Minnesota Wild injury report in case anything shifts after morning skate.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Minnesota Wild Matchup Breakdown

The cleanest way to handicap this is pace and special teams. Minnesota drives more offense, takes more shots, and generally plays with more speed through the middle of the ice. Chicago’s path is slower. They need to keep this a one-goal game into the third and hope Bedard’s group wins a few shifts at the right time.

Special teams are a real separator here. Minnesota’s power play has been the more dangerous unit, while Chicago’s penalty kill has actually been a strength. That creates a weird tension. If the Blackhawks take three or four penalties, the math still starts leaning Wild, even with a solid kill. If Chicago stays disciplined, you at least open the door for +1.5 to matter.

Goaltending is the other hinge point, and it’s not fully locked in. Chicago can start Spencer Knight or Arvid Soderblom, and that’s a massive difference in how I’d feel about a big dog ticket. Minnesota can go Filip Gustavsson or Jesper Wallstedt, and both have been good enough this season that Chicago likely needs traffic and rebounds, not just clean looks from the outside.

If you like building your handicap around repeatable edges like special teams, rest, and matchup style, it’s worth having the NHL betting guide in your toolkit. And if you’re thinking in terms of where teams are headed before the Olympic break and how that affects futures pricing, the Stanley Cup betting guide is a useful framework for not overreacting to a one-week swing.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Minnesota Wild Predictions and Best Bets

My first lean is Minnesota in regulation or Minnesota -1.5, and I usually don’t love laying puck lines with favorites this big. But Chicago’s travel spot and shot-generation issues are hard to ignore, and Minnesota’s top-end scoring is exactly the kind of thing that can turn a competitive 2-1 game into 4-1 in a five-minute window.

The case for Chicago +1.5 is basically this: Teravainen boosts their top line, Minnesota’s recent form has been a bit leaky, and the Wild do play a lot of games that stay close until late. I get it. I just don’t trust Chicago’s defensive-zone execution when they’re under sustained pressure. If Knight starts and plays well, you can survive that. If it’s Soderblom, it gets scary fast.

On the total, I lean Under 6.5. That might sound slightly uncomfortable with Minnesota’s firepower, but 6.5 gives you room, and Chicago tends to contribute to unders by simply not generating enough. The big risk is Minnesota scoring four on its own, which is always live here, but the more likely game script still looks like Minnesota controlling and Chicago trying to hang on.

Best Bet: Minnesota Wild -1.5 (+105).

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