Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, and the New York Islanders are set to do battle against Eric Staal, Ryan Suter, and the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center in an East-West matchup. Fox Sports North will showcase the action, which gets going at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 29.
New York Islanders at Minnesota Wild Odds
The Wild (-115) are being picked as the favorites over the Islanders (-105), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 5 goals (-140 for the over, +120 for the under). After originally posting at -130 over and +110 under, those lines have shifted.
New York is 23-13 straight up (SU) and has netted 8.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. 20 of its contests have gone under the total, while 14 have gone over and just two have pushed. The Isles are 10-7 SU on the road in 2019-20.
New York has converted on 20.9 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 19th overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 79.6 percent of all penalties..
Averaging 24.9 saves per game with a .918 save percentage, Semyon Varlamov (13-9-3) has been the best option in goal for New York this season. If New York decides to rest him, however, head coach Barry Trotz could roll with Thomas Greiss (11-8), who has a .919 save percentage and 2.58 goals against average this year.
Over on the other bench, Minnesota is 19-20 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. 20 of its games have gone over the total, while 15 have gone under and just four have pushed. The team’s 10-5 SU at home this year.
The Wild have converted on just 17.9 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 23rd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.7 percent of all penalties.
Alex Stalock (25.1 saves per game) has been the top netminder in goal for the Wild. Stalock has 10 wins, 10 losses, and two overtime losses to his name and has maintained a pedestrian 3.02 goals against average and a subpar .901 save percentage this year.
New York Islanders at Minnesota Wild Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Power-play chances may have a critical role in tonight’s matchup. The Islanders are 3-3 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 14-9 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Wild are 9-7 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 15-12 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- New York is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Minnesota is 1-1 in shootouts.
- For both of these teams, the game went over the total in three of their last five outings.
- New York skaters have averaged 9.0 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 15.4 giveaways per game (ranked 31st in the league).
- Minnesota has averaged 5.0 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 6.9 giveaways per game (ranked 1st).
- New York skaters have accounted for the most hits in the league (30.4 per game).
