{"id":481136,"date":"2026-01-02T10:20:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T15:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=481136"},"modified":"2026-01-03T07:43:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T12:43:27","slug":"nhl-predictions-jan-2-minnesota-wild-vs-anaheim-ducks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/02\/nhl-predictions-jan-2-minnesota-wild-vs-anaheim-ducks\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Jan. 2 Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at\u00a0Last Word on Hockey<\/em> look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the Minnesota Wild taking on the Anaheim Ducks. Don\u2019t forget to check out more NHL Predictions<\/a>, as our writers continue this series throughout the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

We also want to wish everyone a Happy and safe New York. Here’s to 2026.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/h2>\n

Vegas Golden Knights vs St Louis Blues<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Golden Knights 1-0 Blues<\/h3>\n

How to Watch<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

US TV:<\/strong> Scripps Vegas; Fan Duel Sports Midwest; Matrix Midwest; KMOV; ESPN+<\/p>\n

Canada TV:<\/strong> SN1; SN West<\/p>\n

Time:<\/strong> 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

We open up<\/a> NHL predictions with a Western Conference matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> and the St Louis Blues<\/a>. Vegas is expected to give Carter Hart<\/a> the start in goal for this game. However, always check social media before locking in a daily fantasy starter. The Golden Knights are coming into this game with a 3-4-3 record in their previous 10 games. However, Vegas has lost its last three games in a row. Mitch Marner<\/a> leads the team in assists with 31.<\/p>\n

Jordan Binnington<\/a> is the projected starter for the Blues, who lost to the Golden Knights, 4-1, on November 15. St Louis is 4-5-1 in its last 10 games entering this matchup. The Blues are last in the league in goals scored with 2.46 per game. Robert Thomas<\/a> leads the club in assists (20) and points (29).<\/p>\n

Vegas is looking to start off the New Year with a win and should be able to against a St Louis team that has trouble scoring.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Golden Knights win 4-1.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Wild 1-0 Ducks<\/h3>\n

How to Watch:<\/p>\n

US TV:<\/strong> Fan Duel Sports North; Fan Duel Sports Wisconsin; X; KCOP; Victory+; ESPN+<\/p>\n

Canada TV:<\/strong> SN1; SN West<\/p>\n

Time:<\/strong> 10:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

Our final and featured game of NHL predictions has the Minnesota Wild<\/a> visiting the Anaheim Ducks.<\/a> Filip Gustavsson<\/a> is the likely starter for the Wild, who are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games. However, Minnesota lost to the San Jose Sharks<\/a> in a shootout in its last outing. The Wild has a stingy defence with only 2.59 goals allowed per game, which is second in the league. Kirill Kaprizov<\/a> and Matt Boldy<\/a> are tied for the team’s lead with 47.<\/p>\n

Lukas Dostal<\/a> is the probable starter for the Ducks, who are 2-6-2 in their previous 10 games. Anaheim has struggled as of late with losses in six of its last seven games. The Ducks score 3.33 goals per game, which is good enough for seventh. However, Anaheim is last in goals allowed 3.53 per game. Leo Carlsson<\/a> is first in assists (25) and points (42).<\/p>\n

Anaheim has had a difficult time keeping the puck of the net and Minnesota has a deadly power play.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Wild win 4-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets of the Night<\/h3>\n

We close out NHL predictions with some prop bets of the night. Let’s stay with our featured game for our preferred props. The over\/under for the Ducks versus the Wild is 6.5, and we like the under in this game.<\/p>\n

As for individual props, take Kaprizov to score a power-play goal for the Wild. On the Anaheim side of things, take Carlsson to register an assist.<\/p>\n

Main photo by: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at\u00a0Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the Minnesota Wild taking on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":481148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4524,20,4547,30,4548],"tags":[6013,6012,6061,6019],"class_list":["post-481136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhl-predictions","category-ducks","category-hockey","category-wild","category-nhl","tag-anaheim-ducks-predictions","tag-minnesota-wild-predictions","tag-st-louis-blues-predictions","tag-vegas-golden-knights-predictions"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481136"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481147,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481136\/revisions\/481147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}