Facing each other for the final time this season, the Minnesota Wild and the New York Islanders take the ice at the Barclays Center in an East-versus-West showdown. The first puck will drop at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, February 19, and you can catch it live on Sportsnet.
Minnesota Wild vs. New York Islanders Odds
Minnesota heads into the contest as the favorite with a moneyline of -125. The line for New York sits at +105, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Minnesota is 31-27 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. 30 of its games have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Wild are 11-16 SU as the road team in 2017-18.
Minnesota has converted on 21.0 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 17th in the league, and it has successfully killed off 80.5 percent of its penalties.
The Wild, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.0 times per game overall in the 2017-18 season, and 2.8 per game over its last five on the road. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 7.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sporting a .919 save percentage and 27.9 saves per game, Devan Dubnyk (24-17-5) has been the top option in goal for Minnesota this season. If head coach Bruce Boudreau decides to rest him, however, Minnesota may go with Alex Stalock (8-14-2 record, .914 save percentage, 2.77 goals against average).
The visiting Wild will be led by Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund. Staal (52 points) is up to 26 goals and 26 assists, and has recorded two or more points 14 times. Granlund has 15 goals and 29 assists to his credit (and has logged a point in 29 games).
On the other side of the rink, New York is 29-31 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 60 regular season outings, 36 of its games have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and just three have pushed. This season, the teams 16-14 SU as the home team.
The Islanders have converted on 21.9 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 30th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 73.9 percent of all opponent power plays.
New York players have been penalized only 3.5 times per game in total this season, 3.8 per game over their last five outings total, and 4.0 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays just 6.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jaroslav Halak (30.9 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for the Islanders. Halak has 18 wins, 23 losses, and four overtime losses to his name and has maintained a pedestrian 3.17 goals against average and a .912 save percentage this season.
The home team will be led on offense by John Tavares (30 goals, 34 assists).
Minnesota Wild at New York Islanders Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The Islanders are 11-17 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 19-22 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
- Two of Minnesota’s last ten games have ended in a shootout. The team is 1-1 in those games and 3-2 overall in shootouts this season.
- New York skaters have averaged 14.0 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 11.4 giveaways per game (ranked 26th in the league).
- Minnesota has averaged 3.8 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 5.9 giveaways per game (the second-fewest in the NHL).
- The Isles this season have tallied the 12th-most hits in the league (21.9 per game).
