Vegas Golden Knights vs Minnesota Wild Prediction, 5/3/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Vegas Golden Knights vs Minnesota Wild

Date: Monday, May 3, 2021

Location: Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN

TV: NBCSN

Cam Talbot and the Minnesota Wild (31-14-4) host the Vegas Golden Knights (35-11-2) at Xcel Energy Center on Monday.

The Golden Knights were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 5-2 victory over the Avalanche in their previous game. The Golden Knights had a solid offensive performance in the victory. While out there on the ice, they tallied a score on 5 of the 26 shots they put on goal. Additionally, they had 4 chances with extra men on the ice and were able to notch 1 goal. Vegas earned 8 mins in the box in this game. The Corsi for the Golden Knights was sitting at 37 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 50 which means they had a Corsi rate of 42.5%. Their Fenwick was 30 and the Fenwick against finished at 39, meaning the had a Fenwick percentage of 43.5%. They accounted for 15 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 25 opportunities to win the puck. Their offensive zone starts sat at 44.0% and their PDO was 112.2 for this game.

Pertaining to scoring goals, the Vegas Golden Knights have accounted for 164 goals (7th in hockey) so far this year and have surrendered 103. For the season, they have racked up 72 points and their points percentage is .750. Vegas has compiled 147 power play opportunities and they have notched 27 goals during those advantages, earning them a percentage of 18.37%. When at even strength, the Golden Knights have allowed the opponent to score 86 goals while scoring 137 when they are on offense. Vegas has tried 1,559 shots and holds a shooting percentage of 10.5%. The Golden Knights have had 1,328 shots taken against them and have earned a save percentage of .922. Vegas Golden Knights opponents have 126 power play tries (29th in hockey) and have scored 17 goals in those attempts.

The man protecting the net in this game is Marc-Andre Fleury. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Fleury is sitting with 399 quality starts and his quality starts percentage sits at .552. His save percentage currently sits at .913 for his 50,859 mins guarding the cage. Fleury has seen 24,907 shots taken against him and has garnered 22,743 total saves. The opposition has been able to score 2,164 goals against Fleury in his professional hockey career and his goals against average per contest is 2.55. He has a win-loss mark of 488-276-82 and got the start in 723 games. Fleury has been involved in 879 games over the course of his pro hockey career.

In their last outing, Minnesota played the Blues in a game where the Wild ended up taking the loss by a final of 5-4. Minnesota earned a 59.4% Corsi rating. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Minnesota played and it was a good performance overall. Their Fenwick rate was 55.7% by earning a Fenwick of 39 and the Blues having racked up a 31 Fenwick. Their PDO was 97 and their oZS percentage was 47.5%. The Wild recorded 4 goals of the 30 shots on goal they attempted. They had 1 chance on the power play in this matchup but didn't put one in the back of the net.

Minnesota has tried 1,375 shots (28th in the league) and has accumulated a shooting percentage of 11.42%, while allowing the opposition 1,507 shots. They have a penalty kill rate of 82.43% on their oppositions 148 power play opportunities, and their save percentage comes in at 91.3%. They have a tally of 147 power play opportunities and they have earned a power play rate of 18.37%. The Wild have tallied 130 goals at even strength and 27 goals (21st in professional hockey) while having more men on the ice. They have granted a total of 131 goals to be scored by of a combination of 105 goals at even strength and 26 goals while they were shorthanded. So far this year, the Minnesota Wild have accounted for 157 goals, 66 points, and a points percentage of .673.

Across the ice you will find Cam Talbot defending the net. Opponents are averaging 2.59 goals per contest and he has yielded 848 goals overall. Talbot's quality start percentage comes out to 52.0% and he has made 171 quality starting assignments in his NHL career. He has started in 329 contests and has played for a total of 19,611 mins. Talbot has accrued a career record of 167-129-29 and has participated in 343 games. He has recorded 9,221 stops out of 10,069 shots attempted, giving him a rate of .916.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Minnesota

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