Top NHL Betting Picks for Sunday, January 30th (2022)
Following an action-packed Saturday slate that saw 10 games take place, the NHL has seven more games on the docket for Sunday. The playoff picture in the Eastern Conference is starting to appear settled, as the top eight teams in the conference have distanced themselves from the rest of the pack. There are still a few playoff spots up for grabs in the Western Conference, however, and one of the teams in the thick of the race is playing on Sunday. Let’s dive in.
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Matchup: Minnesota Wild (-130) @ New York Islanders (+110)
The Minnesota Wild (26-10-3) are one of the teams looking to move up in the West’s playoff picture. They currently hold the first wildcard position in the conference and are within three points of second place in the Central Division. Minnesota also holds five and six games in hand over the third place Blues and second place Predators, respectively. The Wild are surging—they’ve won seven of their last eight, with the sole loss coming in overtime to the league-leading Avalanche.
The Islanders (15-15-6) have made up some ground in their quest to get back into the playoff picture, but they have a ways to go. They’ve won five of their last eight, although three of those wins came against the lowly Flyers, and none were against playoff teams. New York sits 17 points out of the final playoff spot, albeit with five games in hand.
Minnesota has been one of the league’s better teams at even strength. Their expected goals share at 5v5 of 52.79% ranks 9th in the NHL, due in large part to their stellar defensive play (their mark of 2.19 xGA/60 ranks third in the NHL). By contrast, the Islanders hold an expected goals share of just 48.82%, which ranks 20th. In other words, Minnesota has been significantly better than New York at generating quality chances on offense while suppressing their opposition’s ability to do so.
The Wild’s recent success has been in large part due to the excellent play of their top line. Kirill Kaprizov, who took the league by storm en route to a Calder trophy in 2021, has picked up right where he left off—he ranks 9th in the NHL with 50 points. 18 of those points have come in his last 10 games, a span over which he recorded at least one point in each game. Mats Zuccarello, who has 40 points in just 33 games, has been key to Kaprizov’s success. He provides a perfect complementary fit on that top line, and the combination has been wildly successful of late.
The Wild are a team that has seen a massive upswing in their quality of play. Their surge hasn’t come by chance—since early January, Minnesota has been consistently dominating their opponents. I think that the market hasn’t fully accounted for this. Minnesota is playing like one of the league’s premier teams, but they aren’t priced accordingly. Bet them on the moneyline down to -150.
Pick: Wild ML (-130)
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Jason Yamaguchi is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive.