Wild vs Golden Knights Picks and Prediction – 4/21/2025

The Minnesota Wild (45-30-7) travel to Las Vegas to kick off their first-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights (50-22-10). Minnesota comes in hot, winning four of its last five, including a 3-2 OT win over Anaheim. Vegas, dominant at home all year, is looking to ride that 29-9-3 home record into a deep playoff run after a strong regular season finish. Hit the ice running with our NHL picks.

Minnesota has been grinding out tight games lately, including three straight OT wins, showing grit but also some cracks on defense. Matt Boldy leads the charge with 27 goals and 46 assists, totaling 73 points. The Wild are averaging just 2.74 goals per game while giving up 2.88, and the power play is middle of the road at 20.9%. In goal, Filip Gustavsson has posted a 2.56 GAA and a .914 save percentage with five shutouts, but the team’s penalty kill sits at a low 72.4%—a real concern heading into this series.

Defensively, the Wild are allowing almost 30 shots per game and took a hefty 612 penalty minutes during the regular season. Gustavsson will have to be at his best to handle a heavy Vegas attack, especially given how poor the penalty kill has been. Veteran Marc-André Fleury has also struggled with a 2.94 GAA and .899 SV%. With backup Jesper Wallstedt lacking experience, Minnesota will have to lean on Gustavsson to steal one on the road.

Vegas is coming off a 50-win season and owns one of the league’s best home records. The offense is led by Jack Eichel, who racked up 94 points with 28 goals and 66 assists. Pavel Dorofeyev added 35 goals, including 13 on the power play. The Golden Knights average 3.34 goals per game and fire 30.2 shots on goal nightly, with a lethal power play clicking at 28.3%.

Defensively, Vegas is a different beast, only allowing 2.61 goals per game and 26.1 shots against. The penalty kill is solid at 75.7%, and they’ve taken far fewer penalties than Minnesota. Adin Hill has been a rock in net, going 32-13-5 with a 2.47 GAA and .906 SV%. Vegas also heads into this series healthy, which only adds to its edge.

Vegas has the more balanced attack, far better special teams, and elite goaltending. Minnesota's weak penalty kill, high penalty minutes, and lack of scoring depth are huge red flags, especially against a Vegas team averaging over 3.3 goals a game. Unless Gustavsson performs better than at any other time this season, it’s hard to see the Wild keeping up. Final Score Prediction: Vegas Golden Knights win 4-2.