Minnesota Wild vs. Vegas Golden Knights Game 2 Prediction, NHL Odds
It’s not quite a must-win game at home for the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday in Game 2 of their series against the Minnesota Wild, but it’s pretty darn close to one with the Knights down 1-0. They are -160 favourites to win on the NHL odds for Tuesday with a total of 5.5 goals.
Wild vs. Golden Knights Betting Analysis
On the puckline for Game 2, Minnesota is -204 at +1.5 and Vegas is +170 at -1.5. The Knights are -143 favourites to score first and the Wild +102. The favoured winning margin at +285 is Vegas by one goal. Minnesota by one goal is +385.
Even though the Wild were 1-0 overtime winners on Sunday, Vegas remains the -131 series favourite with Minnesota -111. The favoured exact series score is Knights in seven games at +302. A Minnesota sweep is +1000.
The Wild took a 1-0 lead in the qualifying round last summer against Vancouver but then lost the next three. Vegas fell behind 1-0 just once in last season’s playoffs, in the Western Conference Finals vs. Dallas. The Knights would win Game 2 but lose the series in five.
Minnesota Wild
Cam Talbot was the easy call as the No. 1 star in Saturday’s 1-0 overtime win as his 42-save performance marked his fifth career shutout in the Stanley Cup playoffs — first with the Wild; two with Edmonton; two with Calgary. He became the eighth goaltender in NHL history to register a playoff shutout with at least three different franchises. Curtis Joseph did it with four teams, including the Leafs and Oilers. Joel Eriksson Ek scored 3:20 into OT for his first career playoff overtime goal. Minnesota was the much more physical team with 71 hits. Winger Jordan Greenway had 11 of those by himself, while Marcus Foligno had 10. The Wild are 8-3 in their past 11 following a win.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights now have an all-time record of 5-4 in the first game of a best-of-7 series. Marc-Andre Fleury was the tough-luck loser in Game 1, stopping 29 shots. Fleury is the fifth goaltender in NHL history to appear in at least 15 career playoff years. Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur hold the record of 17. However, Fleury has done it 15 straight years, which is a new league record for a goaltender. Vegas did outshoot Minnesota 42-30 and dominated in the face-off circle. Winger Ryan Reaves had missed the final 16 games of the regular season but played Sunday and had 10 hits. Blueliner Alec Martinez had missed the final two of the regular season but also played. Vegas has won its past six after scoring two goals or fewer in the previous game.
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