The Minnesota Wild and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights take the ice at the Xcel Energy Center in a Western Conference showdown. It’s their second head-to-head matchup of the regular season. NBC Sports Network will air the matchup, and the opening face-off takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, February 2.
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild Odds
Vegas is 33-16 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 20.1 units this year. 27 of its contests have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Knights are 14-11 SU as the road team in 2017-18.
Vegas has converted on 19.6 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, it has the seventh-best penalty kill in the league, and the teams successfully killed off 83.2 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Knights have been penalized just 3.2 times per game this season, and 2.6 per game over its past five games. The team has had to kill penalties just 6.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 29.2 saves per game with a .942 save percentage, Marc-Andre Fleury (13-6-2) has been the primary option in goal for Vegas this season. If head coach Gerard Gallant chooses to rest him, however, the team could roll with Malcolm Subban (12-3-1), who has a .914 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average this year.
Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Golden Knights. Marchessault (48 points) has tallied 18 goals and 30 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 14 different games. Karlsson has 27 goals and 17 assists to his nameand has registered at least one point in 30 games.
Minnesota is 27-23 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 2.2e-16 units this year. 25 of its contests have gone over the total, while 23 have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 17-8 SU as the home team this season.
The Wild have converted on just 20.3 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 13th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.0 percent of all penalties.
Minnesota players have been penalized 4.1 times per game in total this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to kill penalties just 8.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Devan Dubnyk has denied 27.7 shots per game as the top option in goal for the Wild. Dubnyk has 20 wins, 13 losses, and three overtime losses to his credit and has registered a mediocre 2.65 goals against average and a .917 save percentage this year.
The home team offense will be led by Eric Staal (20 goals, 23 assists).
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Minnesota is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Vegas is 2-2 in shootouts.
- The under has hit in three of Minnesota’s last five outings.
- Four of Vegas last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 4-0 in those games.
