Minnesota Wild (45-30-7) vs Vegas Golden Knights (50-22-10)
Game Info: Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 7:30 pm (Xcel Energy Center)
The Line: Betting Odds: Minnesota Wild +140 / Vegas Golden Knights -166 — Over/Under: 5.5
The Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild meet Thursday in NHL action from the Xcel Energy Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild prediction.
Series Recap
The Vegas Golden Knights restored their series lead by picking up a 3-2 OT win over the Wild in game five last time out. William Karlsson opened the scoring for Vegas with a short-handed goal 8:25 into the game before Kirill Kaprizov tied the game at one on the same power play for Minnesota just :13 later. Mark Stone restored Vegas’ lead less than five minutes later and the lead for the Golden Knights would hold up through the second period and into the third where Matt Boldy would tie the game at two just 3:31 into the third period. Regulation would not decide a winner, so it was off to OT where Brett Howden found the winner for Vegas just over four minutes into overtime, giving the Golden Knights the series lead.
Golden Knights Looking To Close Out Series
Jack Eichel has a team-high 94 points with 28 goals and a team-high 66 assists while Mark Stone has added 67 points with 19 goals and 48 assists. Ivan Barbashev has 51 points with 23 goals and 28 assists, Tomas Hertl has 59 points with 31 goals and 28 apples and Pavel Dorofeyev has 50 points with 33 goals and 17 assists. Shea Theodore has 55 points with 48 assists. Adin Hill has gone 32-13-5 with a 2.47 GAA and a .906 save percentage in goal for Vegas while Ilya Samsonov has gone 16-9-4 with a 2.82 GAA and an .891 save percentage this season.
Why the Vegas Golden Knights will win
- The Golden Knights have won each of their last five night games after coming off overtime.
- The Wild have lost eight of their last 10 games after coming off overtime.
- The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last nine home games after coming off overtime.
- The Golden Knights have covered the puck line in each of their last three games against opponents on a losing streak.
Vegas Golden Knights Player Prop Facts
- William Karlsson has recorded at least one assist in each of the Golden Knights’ last four night games at Xcel Energy Center.
- Tomas Hertl has scored at least one goal in three of his last four appearances with the Golden Knights as road favorites against Western Conference opponents.
- Tomas Hertl has recorded at least one point in eight of his last nine road appearances against Western Conference opponents.
- Brayden McNabb ranks 1st in the Western Conference for Plus/Minus (+42) this season.
Wild On The Brink Again, Looking To Force Game Seven
Kirill Kaprizov has 55 points including 25 goals and 30 assists while Matt Boldy has 71 points including 26 goals and 45 assists. Marco Rossi has 60 points with 24 goals and 36 assists while Mats Zuccarello has 51 points with 18 goals and 33 assists. Filip Gustavsson has gone 31-19-6 with a 2.56 GAA and a .914 save percentage in goal for Minnesota while Marc-Andre Fleury is 14-9-1 with a 2.93 GAA and an .899 save percentage on the year. Jesper Wallstedt is 0-2 with a 4.09 GAA and an .843 save percentage this season.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
- The Golden Knights have lost seven of their last eight games as road favorites against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Wild have won three of their last four games as home underdogs.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Wild’s last seven games at Xcel Energy Center.
- The Golden Knights have failed to cover the puck line in 11 of their last 12 games as road favorites against opponents on a losing streak.
Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts
- Kirill Kaprizov has scored the first goal in three of his last four home appearances against the Golden Knights.
- Matthew Boldy has scored at least one goal in each of the Wild’s last five night games.
- Mats Zuccarello has recorded at least one assist in five of the Wild’s last six games against Western Conference opponents at Xcel Energy Center.
- Matthew Boldy has recorded at least one point in each of the Wild’s last five night games.
- Justin Brazeau has recorded two assists against the Golden Knights this season – equal-most against any opponent.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Golden Knights’ last six games after coming off overtime have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Five of the last six games between the Golden Knights and Wild have gone OVER the total goals line.
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild Prediction
I’m on the Wild +1.5 here. I get why the Golden Knights would be favored and it feels like they have all of the momentum as the Wild continue to fire their best shots and are falling short in recent games. That being said, the majority of these games have been close or have been outright wins for the Wild and I think with their season on the line at home, the Wild put forth a strong showing here and at worst, cover the +1.5 puck line so give me Minnesota +1.5 here.