Join us as we preview game 7 of the hotly contested Central Division series between the Minnesota Wild and Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Minnesota Wild stormed back from a 1-3 deficit to knot up their first round Central Division series with the Las Vegas Golden Knights and set up a deciding game 7.
It’s been one of the most competitive series in the NHL playoffs but Thursday’s clash will send one side into the next round of the playoffs and eliminate the other. So, which side will advance? Will it be the plucky Wild who’ve fought back to make a fist of it? Or will it be the Golden Knights who entered the series as the team to beat according to most top sportsbooks? We preview game 7 and serve up the choice NHL picks to spot.
Friday, May 28, 2021 – 09:00 PM EDT at T-Mobile Arena
It’s been a wild ride in the first round of the playoffs for the Minnesota Wild. After starting the series brightly with a 1-0 upset over the Las Vegas Golden Knights, things went awry quickly. Before you could say Jack Robinson they’d lost three on the trot and were staring in the face of almost certain elimination. Credit must be given where it’s due because the Wild buckled down impressively to win game 5 and 6.
Minnesota came out firing at all cylinders in a rip-roaring game 5 to clinch the 4-2 win over the Golden Knights and send the series back to St. Paul one last time. With emotions running high, the Wild piled on the pressure in a must-win game 6 to defy the NHL odds. Wild closed as the home underdogs in online betting markets.
The first two periods went scoreless before the Wild finally broke the deadlock in the third period. Kevin Fiala opened the scoring with a nifty pass to Ryan Hartman who buried it in the net to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. Later Fiala beat Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Wild a 2-0 lead and finally Nick Bjugstad tucked Wild’s third goal past Fleury to seal the 3-0 victory at the Xcel Energy Center. In the meanwhile, Cam Talbot had his second shutout of the series as the Wild staved off elimination for a second straight game.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights were in full command of the series when they took the 3-1 lead on the heels of dominant 4-0 win over the Wild on the road. As the series returned back to T-Mobile Arena, the Golden Knights had their best shot to put away the Wild in front of their fans. Alas, they fritted the opportunity away, succumbing to the upset and in turn failing to come through as the home faves across multiple sports betting sites.
Although Las Vegas got the nod again in the betting, game 6 was always going to be a tough ask for the Golden Knights. A lot tougher than game 5 was and certainly tougher than game 3 and 4 were, which they won in line with their favourable NHL odds at the time.
Game 6 was a must-win game for the Wild and they rose to the occasion better than the Golden Knights did. Indeed, Pete Deboer’s side seemed to run out of ideas. In his post-presser, Deboer talked about his team’s need to “find a way” to win, but the reality is they’re now faced with their last chance. It’s now or never. Mark Stone echoed the same sentiment in his post-game presser. “We believe in ourselves,” said Stone. “We believe in our team. We have one game in our home rink to move on. It's that simple.”
This series is up for grabs by either side on Friday when game 7 gets underway at T-Mobile Arena, making it a coin-toss for NHL picks. The Vegas Golden Knights have home-ice advantage and that might put them in favour in the eyes of many, but the Minnesota Wild have the undeniable momentum gained from their back-to-back winning streak to twice stave-off elimination. Push comes to shove, the plucky Wild are the choice bet here to complete the come-from-behind first round upset.
NHL Pick: Minnesota Willd ML +145 at BetOnline