Much as I am a fan of the Wild, meeting the Blues in the first round is not a good fit for them. The Wild have beaten everyone and anyone lately, and limited good teams to low goals-against, but bring in the Blues and defense goes out the window. The Wild have lost the last 5 meetings, dating back to last year.

These are two very good offensive teams, 3rd and 5th in the league, and when they play, a high total has been almost a given. Husso will likely start for the Blues, and a little of the shine has rubbed off him as the season ground down. The Wild have two fine options in net. Goaltenders aside, I suspect that both teams will do what they do best, which is score goals. Don’t overlook overtime figuring prominently in this series.

I’ll delay picking winners until I have seen at least one game, but I do like the total on Monday. Shop around, then take the over.