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Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights Game 7 Betting Preview

There’s only one game on Friday’s slate of NHL action, but man, oh man, is it a good one. Game Seven between the Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights is sure to entertain and provides several great betting opportunities.

The Golden Knights held a 3-1 series lead before losing Game Five at home and Game Six on the road. However, the Wild are 3-0 all time in Game Sevens and have already won twice in Vegas in this series. Vegas is the favorite at -180, while Minnesota is an underdog at +155. Puck drop is at 9:00 P.M. Eastern.

Minnesota Wild Preview

One big question heading into Game Seven is the health of the Wild roster. Joel Eriksson Ek awkwardly crashed into the net in Game Six and was helped off the ice. He returned to finish out the game and has assured he’s good to go for Game Seven.

Marcus Foligno and Nick Bonino were game-time decisions last time out, and while both played, Bonino looked a step slow and was clearly playing through pain. If Bonino can’t go, the Wild’s top forward prospect, Matt Boldy, may make his NHL debut.

Cam Talbot has been excellent in the series, posting a 3-3-0 record, a 2.01 GAA, a .937 save percentage, and two shutouts. The shutouts came in Game One and Game Six.

Minnesota must take advantage on the power play to win Friday night. The Wild are 1-for-9 with the man advantage in the playoffs, and no team has drawn fewer penalties. They’ve had one power-play opportunity in the last two games, and it came after a failed coach’s challenge for goaltender interference. They scored on that power play, stretching the lead to 2-0 (they went on to win 3-0 in Game Six).

Vegas Golden Knights Preview

Vegas has something of a goaltending quandary on its hands. After being nearly impossible to solve the first four games of the series, Marc-André Fleury let in three goals in each of the last two games and hasn’t looked nearly as sharp as he did in the regular season. With capable backup Robin Lehner waiting in the wings, either goaltender could take the net. It won’t be an easy decision for head coach Peter DeBoer to make.

DeBoer’s teams have never lost a Game Seven, and Vegas is 1-1 all-time in Game Sevens.

The Golden Knights will likely be without regular season leading scorer Max Pacioretty, who has been considered a game-time decision in each of the last two contests with an undisclosed injury. He should have that status again Friday. Tomas Nosek is also day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, while Brayden McNabb, Peyton Krebs, and Ryan Reaves are all in COVID-19 protocol.

On to the Pick

Crazy things tend to happen in Game Sevens, and Friday night could see more of the same. It’s entirely possible with how evenly matched these teams are that we see this game go to overtime.

However, given their success against the Golden Knights and two wins in Vegas this series, I’m running with the Wild to win Friday night. Minnesota appears to have rope-a-doped Vegas, winning 4-2 in Game Five despite being outshot 40-14 in the game. The Golden Knights are back on their heels and may not recover.

Betting Pick: Minnesota Wild +155

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