Hunter Skoczylas shares a preview, prediction and pick for Friday’s NHL matchup between the New York Islanders and Minnesota Wild.

The Islanders will host the Wild on Friday night at UBS Arena, with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. ET. On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Islanders are -155 favorites on the Moneyline, and the game’s total is set at O/U 6.5 goals.

Below, I’ll provide a preview, prediction and pick for Friday’s tilt between the Islanders and Wild.

New York Islanders vs. Minnesota Wild preview

Islanders preview

New York enters Friday’s tilt with three days’ rest and having won two of its last three games. The Islanders will turn to David Rittich between the pipes tonight after starting Ilya Sorokin the past two games. Rittich has been the better goaltender of the two, posting a 3-1-0 record with a 3.01 GA and .902 SV%, but he allowed six goals on 34 shots in his last start. Still, he ranks 14th in goals saved above expected and eighth in SV% above expected.

While the club ranks 10th in 5v5 goals per 60, it also ranks 27th in 5v5 goals against per 60. The special teams play has been underwhelming, too, with New York ranking 26th in PP% and 19th in PK%. The Islanders are a respectable 4-2-1 at home this season and get to face what should be a tired Wild team that played in North Carolina last night.

Wild preview

The Wild played against the Hurricanes last night and enter tonight’s matchup having lost six of their last eight games. Filip Gustavsson started in Carolina last night, so the club should look to Jesper Wallstedt between the pipes tonight. Minnesota’s overall goaltending has been underwhelming, but Wallstedt has particularly struggled, ranking 53 out of 71 goaltenders in goals saved above expected. Poor goaltending, coupled with the Wild’s inability to find consistency at even strength, has resulted in a 5-7-3 start.

Minnesota still has the luxury of deploying a healthy Kirill Kaprizov on a nightly basis. It has also received solid production from depth players. The issue is the consistency. The club ranks 19th in goals per game and 22nd in goals per 60, but a whopping 18 of its 44 goals have been scored via the power play. This has obviously resulted in a top-5 power play unit, but you aren’t going to win games if you can’t score at even strength. The Wild rank dead last in both total 5v5 goals and 5v5 goals per 60.

Islanders vs. Wild pick, best bet

The Islanders have looked good at home, while the Wild have played sloppy hockey on the road. Frankly, I don’t trust either goaltender, which makes me lean toward taking the over, but I also don’t trust the Wild to create consistent chances, especially on zero days’ rest. 89% of the handle and 36% of the bets on DraftKings Sportsbook lie with the Islanders on the Puck Line at +170. New York doesn’t tend to run away with games, but this feels like a unique situation at home catching a tired team that is in the middle of a slump.

Best Bet: NY Islanders Puck Line -1.5 (+170)