The Minnesota Wild will be looking for their sixth straight victory over the Vegas Golden Knights when these teams square off on Wednesday. Minnesota defeated Vegas on Monday, 6-5.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this West Division battle at Xcel Energy Center. Vegas is the favorite at -120. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts Chicago at +100 as the underdog.
Vegas will be without forwards Tomas Nosek, Patrick Brown, and Ryan Reaves. Forward Max Pacioretty is listed as questionable for this contest. Both Marcus Johansson and Andrew Hammond are listed as questionable for the Wild.
Wild Rallies to Down Golden Knights
The Golden Knights gave up three third-period goals to allow Minnesota to earn the 6-5 victory. Alec Martinez and Mark Stone each had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights. Robin Lehner had a tough night between the pipes for Vegas, allowing six goals on 32 shots.
Vegas is third in goals per game at 3.37 and is eighth in shooting percentage at 10.4%. They are 23rd on the power-play at 18.5%. The Golden Knights are led by Stone with 59 points. He leads the team in assists as well with 38. Pacioretty is the team leader in goals with 24, but may not be available for this game.
The Golden Knights are second in goals allowed per game at 2.24 and are second in penalty killing at 85.8%. Look for Marc-Andre Fleury to be back between the pipes. He is 23-10-0 with a 2.08 GAA and a .926 save percentage. Fleury has allowed two goals in each of his last five starts.
Brodin Completes Wild Comeback
Minnesota trailed by two goals entering the third period but rallied to defeat Vegas, 6-5. Jonas Brodin scored the game-winner and Nick Bonino scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Wild offense. Cam Talbot earned the victory despite giving up five goals on 32 shots.
Minnesota is eighth in goals per game at 3.28 and is second in shooting percentage at 11.6%. They are 22nd on the power-play at 18.7%. Rookie Kirill Kaprizov leads the team with 45 points and is the team leader in goals with 24. Kevin Fiala had two points against Vegas on Monday, giving him 39 points now, second on the team.
The Wild are 11th in goals allowed per game at 2.73 and are ninth in penalty killing at 82.2%. Look for Talbot to return to the pipes on Wednesday. He is 18-7-4 with a 2.57 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Talbot has struggled in his last three starts though, giving up 14 total goals.
Trends:
Vegas:
- None
Minnesota:
- 9-2 in their last 11 games.
- 9-3 in their last 12 games on Wednesday.
There is an old adage in sports that you go with the team until the other one can prove they can beat them. Vegas has not proven they can beat Minnesota, losing five straight meetings. They have not defeated Minnesota since March 3. The Wild clearly have their number and, being at home, gives them a huge edge.
Pick: Take Minnesota at +100.
The Total:
That was quite a high-scoring affair on Monday, but that is the exception and not the rule when these teams meet. In fact, these teams have gone under 5.5 goals in three of the last four meetings prior to that Monday contest. Despite Minnesota going over in six straight games and the fact that Talbot has performed poorly of late, I am looking for a low-scoring affair in this game.
Pick: Go under 5.5 at -110.