The Stanley Cup Playoffs started on Saturday with Western Conference matchups and continue on Sunday with the Vegas Golden Knights hosting the Minnesota Wild for Game 1. Vegas, the Pacific Division winner, has already defeated Minnesota in all three of their regular season games this year. Jack Eichel, Vegas`s star center, is expected to be a key player in this series after achieving career highs in points and goals this season, leading both the Wild and Golden Knights in these stats.
Vegas is heavily favored to win at home with money line odds of -206, while the Wild are underdogs at +170. The game`s over/under for total goals is set at 5.5, with odds of -110 for both over and under.
The SportsLine Projection Model has simulated this game 10,000 times and offers top-rated prop bet suggestions. These expert picks can be helpful for creating winning parlays on various betting platforms or same-game parlays on betting sites.
Here are SportsLine`s top three player prop picks for the Wild vs. Golden Knights game on Sunday, along with the potential payout if combined into a same-game parlay:
Wild-Golden Knights SGP (+1183)
- Alex Pietrangelo Over 1.5 shots on goal (+122): 4.5 stars
- Jack Eichel Under 0.5 points (+200): 4 stars
- Ryan Hartman Over 1.5 shots on goal (-108): 4 stars
SportsLine`s model highlights plus-money odds for Pietrangelo`s shots and Eichel`s points props. Pietrangelo, a defenseman, plays the most minutes for Vegas, and Eichel is the top forward in ice time. Although Pietrangelo is not known for scoring many goals, he averages 1.73 shots per game. The model predicts he will exceed 1.5 shots against the Wild.
Despite being Vegas`s leading scorer, the model suggests betting on Eichel to have under 0.5 points at +200 odds. Eichel has gone under his points prop in four of his last five games, even though he performed well against Minnesota earlier in the season.
For Minnesota, Ryan Hartman, a fourth-line player, is second on the team in shots on goal, averaging nearly 2.3 per game. The model projects him to have 1.9 shots on goal in this game. In his recent road games, Hartman has exceeded his shots on goal line in three out of five games, averaging 2.4 shots per game.
Elton Marrow