The Minnesota Wild and the expansion franchise Vegas Golden Knights face off at T-Mobile Arena in a Western Conference tilt. It’s their third head-to-head matchup of the regular season. The puck drops at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 16, and it can be caught live on Fox Sports North.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vegas Golden Knights Odds
Vegas (-155) is currently the favorite over Minnesota (+135) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Netting 18.2 units for moneyline bettors, Vegas is 45-25 straight up (SU) overall this year. Through 70 regular season matches, 37 of its games have gone over the total, while 31 have gone under and just two have pushed. This season, the team is 24-10 SU at home.
The Golden Knights have converted on 22.3 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 16th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 80.6 percent of all penalties.
The Golden Knights, as a collective unit, have been penalized just 3.2 times per game overall this season, and 4.0 per game over their last five home outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays for just 7.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings, in total.
Averaging 28.3 saves per game with a .927 save percentage, Marc-Andre Fleury (25-13-3) has been the best goalkeeper for Vegas this season. If head coach Gerard Gallant chooses to give him a rest, however, the team may go with Malcolm Subban (12-4-4 record, .912 save percentage, 2.59 goals against average).
The Knights will continue to rely on offensive production via Jonathan Marchessault and David Perron. Marchessault (65 points) has put up 22 goals and 43 assists and has recorded multiple points in 20 different games this year. Perron has 16 goals and 47 assists to his credit and has recorded a point in 43 contests.
On the other bench, Minnesota is 39-31 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 0.1 units this season. Through 70 regular season matches, 36 of its games have gone over the total, while 30 have gone under and just four have pushed. As a road team, the Wild are 15-19 SU.
The Wild have converted on 21.0 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 21st overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.2 percent of all penalties.
Minnesota’s players have been whistled for penalties 3.8 times per game this season, and 2.2 per game over their last five on the road. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 6.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Devan Dubnyk (27.1 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for Minnesota. Dubnyk owns a 31-20-5 record, while registering a .915 save percentage and 2.65 goals against average this year.
Eric Staal (37 goals, 31 assists) will lead the offensive attack for the visiting Wild.
Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights Betting Predictions
NHL Tip: SU Winner – Golden Knights, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Power-play opportunities may prove to be critical in the outcome of this game. The Wild are 10-11 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 26-15 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Golden Knights are 16-11 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 34-16 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Vegas is 3-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Minnesota is 3-2 in shootouts.
The total has gone under in four of Vegas’ last five games.
Vegas has averaged 10.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 9.3 giveaways per game (ranked 15th).
Minnesota skaters have averaged 6.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 6.1 giveaways per game (ranked first).
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