The New York Islanders and Minnesota Wild meet Saturday in NHL action at the Grand Casino Arena. Here’s a Wild vs Islanders Prediction. This article will include a Wild vs Islanders Pick.
New York Islanders Betting Preview
The New York Islanders beat the Devils, lost to the Predators, and they play the Jets next. The Islanders have won 5 of their last 8 games.
The New York Islanders are averaging 2.86 goals per game and are scoring 15.7 percent of their power play opportunities. Bo Horvat leads New York with 21 goals, Mathew Barzal has 25 assists and Matthew Schaefer has 115 shots on goal. Defensively, the New York Islanders are allowing 2.66 goals per game and are killing 82 percent of their opponent’s power plays. David Rittich has allowed 46 goals on 511 shots faced, and Ilya Sorokin has given up 61 goals on 720 shots.
Minnesota Wild Betting Preview
The Minnesota Wild beat the Kraken, lost to the Kings, and they play the Devils next. The Wild have won split their last 10 games.
The Minnesota Wild are averaging 3.11 goals per game and are scoring 22.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Matt Boldy leads Minnesota with 26 goals, Kirill Kaprizov has 27 assists and Joel Eriksson Ek has 133 shots on goal. Defensively, the Minnesota Wild are allowing 2.62 goals per game and are killing 76.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Filip Gustavsson has allowed 67 goals on 761 shots faced, and Jesper Wallstedt has given up 42 goals on 569 shots.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
- The Wild have won eight of their last nine games against the Islanders.
- The Islanders have lost each of their last four games at Grand Casino Arena.
- The Wild have covered the puck line in each of their last six games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Islanders have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five night games following a shootout loss.
- The Islanders have lost the second period in each of their last five road games against Western Conference opponents when leading after the first period.
Why the New York Islanders will win
- The Wild have lost four of their last five games as home favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Islanders have won 16 of their last 24 games as underdogs.
- The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last seven games as home favorites following an overtime win.
- The Islanders have covered the puck line in each of their last eight Saturday games as underdogs.
- The Islanders have won the third period in each of their last seven Saturday night games.
Total Goals Facts
- Ten of the Islanders’ last 11 road games have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Each of the Wild’s last four games after coming off overtime have gone OVER the total goals line.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3’ market has hit in each of the Wild’s last 20 games as favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in 11 of the Islanders’ last 12 games as underdogs against Central Division opponents.
Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts
- Matthew Boldy has scored the last goal in each of the Wild’s last three games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- Marcus Johansson has recorded at least one assist in each of his last four appearances with the Wild as home favorites.
- Kirill Kaprizov has scored at least one goal in each of his last six appearances with the Wild as favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- Quinn Hughes ranks 1st in the league for average time on ice (27:30) this season.
New York Islanders Player Prop Facts
- Mathew Barzal has recorded at least one assist in each of the Islanders’ last four night games.
- Anders Lee has recorded four hits against the Wild this season – most against any opponent.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Minnesota Wild rank 2nd in the league for goals against per game this season (2.62).
- The Minnesota Wild rank 27th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (76.64%).
- The New York Islanders rank 4th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.66).
- The New York Islanders rank 28th in the league in power play percentage this season (15.67%).
Wild vs Islanders Prediction
The Islanders are playing well enough to get a look in the underdog spot, earning points in 6 of their last 8 tries. However, the Wild have been one of the better home teams in the league. The Wild have also won 8 of the last 9 games against the Islanders, which includes a 5-2 win back in November. This will also be the Wilds first home game since December 23, so the fans should be anxious to welcome them back. I’ll side with the Wild and will lay the PL to shave down the juice.