Wild vs Kings

The Wild roll into Crypto.com Arena riding a six-game point streak and a 25-10-8 record, while the Kings have stumbled to just three wins in their last 11 despite Saturday’s 5-4 shootout victory in this same building, which feels more like a relief than a sign of sustained form. Minnesota is effectively at full strength, whereas Los Angeles could be without important winger Trevor Moore, and the Wild’s top end — with Kirill Kaprizov’s strong career production against LA and the Boldy–Eriksson Ek–Tarasenko trio already piling up points in the first two meetings — has been more consistently dangerous at five-on-five. Between Minnesota’s edge in goals per game, a more potent power play, and a goaltending tandem that has slightly outperformed the Kuemper/Forsberg duo, the visitors still grade out as the more trustworthy side even in the last leg of a long road trip, and their historical record in this building supports that lean. I’m backing Minnesota on the moneyline at -118 and grading it a B: a solid value on the stronger team with better underlying metrics, but recent shootout coin-flips between these clubs keep it shy of elite confidence and argue for moderate stake sizing. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 05/01/2026 09:33

Through two meetings this season these teams have already delivered 4-3 and 5-4 shootout scorelines, and their season profiles support more offense, with Minnesota scoring a bit above 3.1 goals per game and Los Angeles around 2.6 while both sit near 2.6 goals against. The Wild’s top unit, led by Kaprizov and a goal-hungry Matt Boldy, drives a power play north of 22% against a Kings penalty kill under 80%, and LA’s own weapons in Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala and Anze Kopitar are capable of exploiting a Wild shorthanded unit that has been middling rather than lockdown, meaning special teams add to the scoring upside. Add in that both prior matchups went the distance with chances trading late, the Kings’ recent defensive wobble, and the playoff-race urgency for a Los Angeles group trying to stay in the Western mix against a surging Minnesota core, and the ingredients are in place for another game that gets past 5.5 despite competent goaltending on both sides. I like Over 5.5 at -125, but the heavy juice drags down the price-to-edge ratio, so I’ll grade it a B-: the matchup points toward goals, yet the cost of entry means this fits better for bettors comfortable laying extra vig for a statistically supported, but still volatile, total. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 05/01/2026 09:33

Both games in this season series have been decided by a single goal in shootouts, and the Kings have kept four of their last five contests within one despite their uneven record, which makes grabbing +1.5 at home more appealing than asking Minnesota to finally win this matchup by margin. The Wild are clearly the more complete team, but they’re also closing out a long road swing and leaning heavily on their top scorers, while Los Angeles has regained some belief after finally turning a strong effort into two points against this same opponent on Saturday behind Darcy Kuemper and a balanced scoring spread. Given how tightly these teams have played at five-on-five, the Kings’ veteran core on the back end, and the high likelihood that LA treats every point as critical in a crowded Pacific race, another one-goal result — regardless of which side takes it — feels more common than a Wild blowout, even if Minnesota still carries the higher ceiling. That said, the -250 price on +1.5 leaves limited upside, so I’ll grade Kings +1.5 as a C+: a high-probability but low-reward angle suited more to parlays or conservative bankroll protection than to aggressive, standalone exposure. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 05/01/2026 09:33