New York Islanders vs Minnesota Wild Picks and Predictions for Thursday October 29 2026
Minnesota hasn’t lost at home yet. Four games, four wins. That’s a pretty good place to start when you’re trying to pick a winner Thursday night. The Wild have also won three straight overall, and they’re getting enough offense without giving up much at the other end. The Islanders have been hanging around, but they’ve struggled away from home. I don’t see a good reason to go against Minnesota here.
The Islanders visit Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, Thursday night. Puck drop is 8:00 PM ET. New York has been playing decent hockey, but Minnesota has been one of the better teams in the Central Division. I’m taking the Wild on the moneyline and looking at Under 6.5 goals. Get ready for all the action with our free NHL picks.
New York Islanders Have Been Better at Home
The Islanders are 6-4-2, but they’ve gone just 1-3-1 on the road. That’s the part I can’t get past. They’ve been able to win games at home, but traveling has been another story. New York has won five of its last ten, and the Islanders have been keeping most games competitive. Still, Minnesota is a tough place to go when you’re already having trouble winning away from your own building.
New York has scored 35 goals and allowed 31 through twelve games. That’s not bad. The Islanders are averaging just under three goals a night, and they’ve been giving up around 2.6 over their last ten. They can play a tight defensive game, which gives them a chance against Minnesota. But the Islanders haven’t been generating as many shots as the Wild, and that means they’re going to have to make the most of the chances they get.
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The injury list is a problem. Mathew Barzal is out with a knee injury, Matias Maccelli has a lower-body injury, and Calum Ritchie is also unavailable. Alexander Romanov remains out with a serious knee injury. That’s a lot of missing depth. New York can still defend well enough to stay in games, but I don’t like asking a short-handed team to go into Minnesota and find three or four goals.
Minnesota Wild Have Been Tough to Beat
Minnesota is 9-3-2, with a perfect 4-0 record at home. The Wild have won seven of their last ten games, and they’re riding a three-game winning streak. They’re not winning every game by three goals, but they’re doing enough at both ends. Minnesota has been allowing only 2.3 goals per game over its last ten. That’s the kind of defense that makes life miserable for an opponent that doesn’t create a ton of shots.
The Wild are scoring around 3.1 goals a game and allowing about 2.2. They’re also getting more than 31 shots on goal per game, which is one of the better marks in the league. That’s what I like. Minnesota isn’t just sitting back and hoping the goaltender saves everything. The Wild are spending time in the offensive zone, making teams defend and creating enough chances to wear opponents down. New York is going to have to work hard just to get the puck out of its own end.
Minnesota has some injuries to deal with. Filip Gustavsson is out with a hip injury, which changes the goaltending picture. Brock Faber is unavailable with a head injury, and both Nick Foligno and Marcus Foligno have been dealing with injuries. Jared Spurgeon is also day-to-day. That’s not a small list. But the Wild have been winning despite those problems, and their overall defensive numbers are still strong. I’d want to know who’s starting in goal before betting, but Minnesota has been playing well enough to get my vote.
New York Islanders vs Minnesota Wild Picks and Predictions
Minnesota Wild Moneyline
Give me Minnesota. The Islanders are a decent team, but they’re 1-3-1 away from home and missing several players. The Wild are 4-0 in their own building and have been allowing barely more than two goals a night. That’s a tough combination for New York to deal with. The one thing that gives me pause is Minnesota’s goaltending situation with Gustavsson out. If the replacement has a rough night, the Islanders can certainly steal one. But I like Minnesota’s ability to control the puck and keep New York from getting many good looks. Wild win at home.
Under 6.5 Goals — Target Total
I’ll take Under 6.5. Minnesota has been allowing about 2.2 goals a game, and New York has been scoring fewer than three. The Islanders will probably try to keep this close rather than open things up against a Wild team that can generate a lot of shots. Minnesota doesn’t need to score five to win. Three should give the Wild a pretty good chance. The concern is the goaltending injuries, which could make this a little more unpredictable. But I still see a game around 3-2 Minnesota.
Final Picks: Minnesota Wild Moneyline and Under 6.5 Goals (target total)
Preview prepared October 28, 2026.
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