Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild Betting Preview/Player Prop

The Minnesota Wild host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night for Game Six of their first-round playoff series. Vegas holds a 3-2 lead in this series and can close this thing out with a win on the road.

Vegas is the No. 2 seed in the West Division after racking up 82 points during the regular season. The Golden Knights had won three straight games in this series before suffering a loss in Game 5.

Minnesota has been one of the best stories in the NHL this season, and they carried that momentum into the playoffs. The Wild won the series opener but now needs two more wins to move on. 

The Golden Knights are -140 over the Wild on Wednesday night. 

Defense a Key For Vegas

The Golden Knights scored 3.39 goals per game this season, but it is on the defensive end of the ice where this team thrives. Vegas allowed just 2.18 goals per game, and they have a terrific goaltending tandem that leads the way.

Marc-André Fleury recorded a shutout win in Game Four of the series, but Robin Lehner has also been terrific in net this season and could start in a pinch if needed. The Golden Knights have an excellent penalty kill, and they continue to frustrate the Wild, who are 0-for-8 in the playoffs with the man advantage.

On the offensive end of the ice, Mark Stone has set the tone. In the regular season, Stone had 21 goals and 40 assists and has performed well in the postseason as well, with four goals and an assist through five games. 

Minnesota Needs to Score

The Wild scored 3.21 goals per game this season, but they also gave up 2.84 per game. Minnesota wants to push the tempo against Vegas, but they also must find a way to capitalize on every opportunity. 

Rookie forward Kirill Kaprizov looks like a future star in the league, and he has a goal and an assist this postseason. Minnesota only managed to get 14 shots on net in the Game Five win, and they need more attempts in this one.

Goaltender Cam Talbot has stopped 92.8 percent of shots he has faced in the postseason, and the Wild need him to be great again on Wednesday night. Another strong game from Talbot could push the Wild into a decisive Game Seven. 

Wild Win Game Six

This has been a thrilling series, and the young Wild have proven that they aren’t afraid of the veteran Vegas squad. Playing at home in Game Six is a huge advantage for the Wild, who went 21-5-2 at home this season, and the energy will be tremendous.

Vegas has been a great defensive team all year, but few teams have been able to slow down the Wild. Look for Minnesota to find some room to operate again as they score enough goals to win this game. 

The odds still favor Vegas to win this series, but the Wild will send this to a Game Seven with a win on Wednesday night. Bet the Minnesota Wild over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Six of this series. 

FREE PICK: Minnesota Wild (+116).

Player Prop

Kevin Fiala (-115) Over 0.5 Points

Since coming over to the Wild from Nashville in early 2019, Fiala has been a consistent force on the offensive end.

The 24-year-old winger had a breakout season in 2019-20 with a points per game average of 0.84. He came close to matching that this year with 20 goals and 20 assists in 50 games (0.80 points per game) despite the addition of another offensive leader in Kaprizov.

Fiala finished the regular season with points in 8 of Minnesota’s final 11 contests and multi-point games in 5 of those. Included among them was a 2-point game (1 goal, 1 assist) in a 6-5 win over the Golden Knights on May 3.

Vegas has done a good job of shutting down Fiala so far. His 0-for-18 shot production is a big reason the Wild are trailing 3-2 in the series.

But it also indicates Fiala is due. During the regular season, he was able to break through with 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) against the Vegas defense. With the Wild trying to avoid elimination tonight, we’ll take Fiala (-115) to get on the scoreboard and go over 0.5 points.

Be sure to check out all of today's NHL picks!