10* Vancouver (10:35 ET): Yes, Minnesota is a veteran club with more playoff experience than Vancouver. But I felt the Canucks were the better team this year and they’re poised to potentially pull an “upset” in this qualification series, which counts as their first postseason experience since 2015. Vancouver had a +11 goal differential in 69 games whereas the Wild allowed the same exact number they scored. This is a solid value on the team with better goaltending.

Jacob Markstrom is going to be the key for the Canucks to win this series. The netminder was a borderline Vezina finalist this year with a .918 save percentage and 2.75 GAA. Again, I give him the edge over counterpart Alex Stalock, who is the only reliable option left for the Wild after Devan Dubnyk fell apart this year.

The Wild would not have even made the postseason were it not for the expanded format. Meanwhile, Vancouver sat 4th in the Pacific and was just above the cutline. The Canucks also boast the better top line. 10* Vancouver