Minnesota Wild vs Vegas Golden Knights Expert Picks
My Wild vs Golden Knights prediction is a Minnesota win on Monday, with Kirill Kaprizov scoring again at Grand Casino Arena.
The Vegas Golden Knights visit the Minnesota Wild at 8 p.m. ET, and on paper they're the hotter team at 5-1 with four straight wins. Look a little closer, though, and the last two of those wins needed overtime and a shootout.
I'm backing Minnesota because this game comes down to the two things the Wild do better than almost anyone right now: stop pucks and kill penalties. Jesper Wallstedt is at .936, the Wild have killed 16 of 17 penalties, and Vegas have leaned on their power play to win lately.
Kaprizov is the obvious player to build around. He has six goals in five games, he runs the top power-play unit, and he looked unstoppable in Florida on Saturday.
Key Stats and Trends
- Minnesota have killed 16 of 17 penalties this season.
- Wallstedt has a .936 save percentage across five starts.
- Vegas have outshot all six opponents, but their goalies are at .903.
- All three goals in Vegas' 2-1 overtime win over Los Angeles came on the power play.
Wild Form
The penalty kill is the story of Minnesota's start. The Wild have killed 16 of 17 penalties, and with Wallstedt this sharp behind it, they've allowed just nine goals in five games.
Saturday's 4-1 win in Florida was that formula at its best. Matt Boldy scored 53 seconds in, Kaprizov finished off a hat trick, and the Panthers went 0 for 5 on the power play. The 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay three days earlier came down to a sloppy start, with two goals allowed 36 seconds apart in the first period and a comeback that ran out of time.
Brock Faber and Nick Foligno are out with no timetable on the Wild's injury report, while Olli Maatta is day-to-day.
Golden Knights Form
Vegas drive play as well as anyone, outshooting all six opponents and averaging 33 shots a game. The problem is behind that: Carter Hart and Adin Hill have a combined .903 save percentage, and the penalty kill sits at 81.2%.
Their last two wins show both sides of it. Vegas fell behind 3-0 to Toronto inside nine minutes on Thursday, then threw 43 shots at the Leafs, tied it through Jack Eichel and won the shootout. Saturday's 2-1 overtime win over Los Angeles was all special teams, with Mitch Marner scoring the winner on the power play after the five-on-five offence dried up.
Victor Olofsson, who has four goals, was placed on injured reserve on Sunday after getting hurt in Seattle.