The Central Division series between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild is poised on a knife-edge with the pair level 1-1 after splitting the first two games. Now, as the series heads to Minnesota, can the Wild bank on home advantage at the expense of the favored Golden Knights? Sports betting sites across the board are cornering game 3 with the visitors, meaning the Wild will need to pull off the upset at home if they’re going to take the initiative in this series against the odds.
We preview this matchup and serve up choice NHL picks for your consideration.
Thursday, May 20, 2021 – 09:30 PM EDT at Xcel Energy Center
Las Vegas really needed the win in game 2 of their series with the Wild, after succumbing to the surprising 1-0 loss in the series opener. And they got it. It was a complete performance that delighted their fans and underscored their seemingly unwavering favour in NHL betting markets. From the start of the series, the Golden Knights were dubbed as the team to beat and that hasn’t changed despite their rocky start in the postseason.
As it is, the Golden Knights enter game 3 on the road as the nominal favorites. Depending on the preferred top sportsbook, Las Vegas is tipped to win in moneyline betting markets anywhere between -109 to -125 – the former of which represents the best price currently available (at the time of writing) with BetOnline Sportsbook (see BetOnline Review).
The Golden Knights made key adjustments to their game plan, dumping and chasing the puck and forechecking with more frequency to fashion better opportunities than they did in game 1. Alex Tuch, who was the most vocal and animated after the loss in the first game, walked his talk and helped lift the Golden Knights to victory with his two goals. Jonathan Marchessault accounted for the third goal.
Arguably, the biggest hero on the night was Marc-Andre Fleury. The netminder had a standout game and made some incredible saves to keep the Golden Knights in the lead. He faced 35 shots and stopped 34, many of which were downright incredible saves that had it been anybody other than Fleury would have struggled to stop.
Road wins in the playoffs are tough, but the Wild are known for the grit and physical play. They know how to grind out those kinds of wins, although Tuesday night wasn’t quite an example of that as they took their first loss of the series. A result that fell in line with the betting odds across multiple betting sites.
The Wild got off to a solid start but failed to capitalise in the end. They owned the 5-on-5 shots of the game, shots on goal, they had better puck possession and they took merely two penalties on the night, albeit the second penalty did put the nail in the coffin so to speak. By the stats, the Wild may well be left shaking their heads, wondering why they were unable to win game 2.
Perhaps, it simply wasn’t their night. That and Fleury was simply too good between the posts and wouldn’t back down even though the Wild threw the kitchen sink at him.
The first period went scoreless as the Wild imposed their physicality on the Golden Knights, stifling the speedsters at every turn. They outshot the Golden Knights 17-10, but Fleury was on fire, an impenetrable fortress between the posts.
Matt Dumba got the go-ahead goal midway in the second period, the only time they managed to beat Fleury. However, their advantage was short lived as Jonathan Marchessault levelled the game almost immediately. It was 18 seconds to be exact, crushing the Wild’s lead so quickly that it likely left them reeling. To be fair, they didn’t seem to recover from the swiftness of Las Vegas’ response.
Then, five minutes later, Tuch, who caught Cam Talbot a bit unawares and careless, scored Las Vegas’ second goal of the night to give the hosts the first lead in the series and, well, they never looked back. The third period went scoreless for the better part of the 20 minutes, despite being testy and the Wild generating better offense. Unfortunately, a bogus Kevin Fiala penalty gave the Golden Knights the late power-play and they gladly capitalised on it to clinch the 3-1 win and knot up the series 1-1.
Despite the loss, coach Dean Evason was pleased with his boys and their effort as it showed promise for the rest of the series. “My gosh, we loved our start,” Evason said. “We loved the whole game. Not just our team, but the game was fantastic. They’re going to be like that the rest of the way. For sure, there was encouragement (with the start).”
The Wild have been a thorn in the side of the Golden Knights this season and it’s hard to imagine that’ll change in game 3. They’ve taken the measure of Las Vegas in the regular season and extended that solid form into the playoffs to win six of their last eight contests ( includes game 1 of the playoffs). That suggests a confidence that could prove deciding.
The Golden Knights may well be chuffed to have levelled the series, but they’ll be getting no favours from the Wild when they face off at the Xcel Energy Center on Thursday night. The Wild were one of the better home teams this season with a 21-5-2 record with home-ice advantage. If the Golden Knights are to take the lead in this series, they’ll have their work cut out.
Sports betting markets have taken a rather tight view for this game, fittingly so when first two games were hotly contested. The Golden Knights are the notional faves, but the Wild. trading just shy of even money, are the quintessential dangerous floaters. Their NHL odds range anywhere from +105 (at Bookmaker) to -110 (at Bovada), suggesting an “upset” win isn’t off the cards.
All told, game 3 is a right tossup for NHL picks. The Golden Knights have the momentum after winning game 2 while the Wild have the motivation to bounce back and with home advantage for game 3 and 4 they are in prime position to seize the initiative again. Push comes to shove, the Wild at home offers the best value.
NHL Picks: Wild +105 with Bookmaker