Wild vs. Mammoth Prediction, NHL Odds & Best Bets (10/27)

Fact checked at 7:16 AM ET, Oct 27, 2026

Odds as of 5:39 AM ET, Oct 27, 2026

The top two teams in the Central Division meet for the first of four times this season, with puck drop at 9:00 PM ET at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Minnesota (8-3-2, 18 points) closes a five-game road trip after a 5-1 win in Seattle and a 4-2 win in Vancouver, where Quinn Hughes scored and added an assist in his return to Rogers Arena. Utah (8-4-0) is two points back with a game in hand, 4-1-0 at home, and coming off a 5-4 overtime win over Tampa Bay.

We think Utah's power play decides this one. The Mammoth convert 38.1% of their chances, the best rate in the league, and Clayton Keller plays on the first unit. Both picks follow from that: Utah pulls away at home, and Keller sets up the goals that get it there.

The market has moved toward Utah. Utah -1.5 has gone from +210 at the open to +182, with Minnesota +1.5 at -225, and the moneyline has gone from -120 to -129, with Minnesota +108. The total is 6.5, Over -100 and Under -116. Jesper Wallstedt and Karel Vejmelka are the projected starters in goal, and neither has been confirmed. Minnesota is without defenseman Brock Faber, goaltender Filip Gustavsson and both Folignos, and Utah is without defenseman John Marino and forward Michael Carcone. The puck line includes overtime; player props may settle differently in overtime at different books.

Wild vs. Mammoth Predictions

• Pick #1: Utah -1.5 (+182)
• Pick #2: Clayton Keller Over 0.5 Assists (-115)

PICK #1: Utah -1.5 (+182)

Utah scores enough to win this by two at home. The Mammoth average 3.83 goals a game, fifth in the league, and Nick Schmaltz's five power-play goals are second in the league. Depth helps too: all 19 Utah skaters who have played five or more games have scored. Minnesota has been shorthanded 3.15 times a game, and that's a lot of chances to hand the league's best power play.

The price has come Utah's way since it opened, from +210 to +182, and the moneyline has moved with it. Utah has won by two or more in 5 of its 12 games, while +182 implies a 35.5% chance. Minnesota is also playing the last game of a five-game road trip.

Minnesota is the hard part. The Wild allow 2.31 goals a game, the third-fewest in the league, Wallstedt is 7-2-2 with a .918 save percentage, and Minnesota has lost by two or more just once in 13 games, 5-2 at Winnipeg. Utah's own goaltending is a worry: its team save percentage is .864, tied for 31st, and Vejmelka is at .873. Three of Utah's four home wins came by one goal, including the overtime win over Tampa Bay, which wouldn't have covered. The pick assumes Wallstedt and Vejmelka start as projected; a different goaltender in either net changes the case.

PICK #2: Clayton Keller Over 0.5 Assists (-115)

Keller has 11 assists in 12 games, and 10 of his 15 points have come on the power play. He's picked up at least one assist in 9 of those 12 games, including each of his last three. He works the first unit with Schmaltz, Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther and Mikhail Sergachev, so he's on the ice for most of Utah's power-play time.

This is his normal output, not a hot streak. He had 60 assists in 81 games two seasons ago and 62 in 82 last season. The Over at -115 implies a 53.5% chance, and Minnesota's 3.15 times shorthanded a game should give him extra time on that unit.

Two of the three games he went without an assist were lopsided losses, 6-2 at home to Edmonton and 6-1 in Boston, nights when Utah's offense never got going. In the third, a 4-2 win in Edmonton, he scored twice himself. So the risk is the same as pick 1: Minnesota's defense and Wallstedt holding Utah to two goals or fewer. If Utah wins by two at home, Keller is likely in on the scoring.

21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.