Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Islanders vs Wild NHL Odds
Looking for New York Islanders vs. Minnesota Wild free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Islanders taking on the Wild on Sunday December 29th at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey games all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions like this Islanders Wild matchup.
NHL Handicapping Analysis
(23-10-3) New York Islanders vs. Minnesota Wild (19-5-5)
Date: Sunday, December 29th
Time: 3:00 PM
Venue: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Wild +101
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Wild +1.5 (-261)
NHL Betting Total: 5
- Click here to view… NHL ATS Stats & NHL Hockey Betting Insight for this game!
- *Click Here* Check out our Live Betting Odds for this game!
- *Click Here* Check out our Updated Sportsbook Bonuses for today!
- *Click Here* Buy Tickets for this game from STUB HUB!
The surging, second-place Islanders take on the fifth-place Wild tomorrow evening in Saint Paul.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE RAZOR RAY’S NHL PICKS FOR THIS WEEK!
Both teams are 5-5 in their last 10 games coming into this matchup. It looks like it’ll be a hard-fought battle for both teams to get back on track. Hungry dog runs faster they say…
New York Islanders
The Islanders are coming off a bad road loss to the Blackhawks, but overall have had a very good season. They’re one point ahead of the Penguins for second in their division, and they’ve allowed the fewest goals in the league to date.
And that’s what we need to focus on when it comes to this game: The Islander defense and goaltending.
They allow the 15th-most shots/game, but are only allowing 2.6 goals/game. The Islanders are 12-3-2-1 when Semyon Varlamov is in net, and he has a .918 SV% on the season.
So it’s really a combination of pretty good defense and really good goaltending. But whatever the ingredients are, the potion is working and the Islanders are on their way to being back in the playoffs again.
Islander scoring is led by Mathew Barzal, who’s got 16 goals and 16 assists on the season while posting a +10.
Minnesota Wild
Meanwhile, the Wild are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They’re allowing 3.3 goals/game (28th in the league) on 31.7 shots/game (19th in the league).
And their offense has not been picking up the slack. They rank 14th in the league in goals/game, but 29th in shots/game. I’m honestly unsure how they continue to sneak goals in and win games despite getting so few opportunties.
But they are winning games, three of their last four in fact. But they only seem to win high-scoring games, as their offense has really been carrying this Minnesota squad. For example, they’ve scored 6, 8, 3, 4, and 6 goals in their last five wins.
NHL Betting Trends:
- The Islanders are 12-4 in their last 16 games against the Central division.
- The Wild are 3-7 in their last 10 Sunday games.
Free New York Islanders vs. Minnesota Wild NHL Prediction:
To be honest, I don’t know how the Islanders aren’t -300 here.
They’re better across the board. Every metric points towards the Islanders being the better team. The only reason you could take Minnesota here is because this game is being played in Saint Paul, but the Islanders are still 10-6-2 on the road.
I expect a very solid road performance here from the Islanders in this spot, and they should win this relatively comfortably.
And if you’re not as confident as me, you can convince yourself into taking New York here because there’s loads of value in this pick. It’s always smart to take the better team at even money.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Islanders ML.
If you’re looking for more NHL picks like this New York Islanders vs. Minnesota Wild matchup we’ll be providing 4* free NHL predictions on the blog during the entire 2019 NHL season, and check out our Experts for guaranteed premium & free NHL Hockey picks!
Check out our Updated NHL Hockey Betting Odds.
Register here for a FREE NHL Hockey Betting Account Now for Daily Free Picks & More Special Offers!