CBS Sports says what we're all thinking about the Golden Knights first-round series

When you look at the series odds for the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild, it's staggering. Vegas odds have the Golden Knights at -235 to win and with good reason. They have home-ice advantage, which has been a place they've dominated.

The Golden Knights are 29-9-3 at T-Mobile Arena this season. The Wild are comfortable away from St. Paul, though. They have a record of 23-13-5 this season away from XCel Energy Center. However, they have a home record of 22-17-2, giving Vegas (21-13-7 away from Las Vegas) a "golden" opportunity to strike.

This is one of many reasons why experts are going with the Pacific Division champions in the first round. That includes CBS Sports, who is on board with the Golden Knights winning the first round.

Austin Nivison and Chris Bengel were the two writers who picked all eight matchups. That ranged from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators to the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. Some were close (Kings over Oilers in seven games) while others were slightly closer (Maple Leafs over Senators in six games).

But what about the Golden Knights and Wild? Will it be similar to the Kings and Oilers as it's being predicted? Or will it be a short-and-sweet series as implied by some experts? Perhaps hockey fans will be in for a surprise come Sunday. Maybe not. Who knows?

CBS Sports is picking the Vegas Golden Knights to defeat the Minnesota Wild unanimously

There are more reasons why the Vegas Golden Knights are favored over the Minnesota Wild. There's the power play that has been electric throughout the 2024-25 season (28.3%, second-best in the NHL). That unit is the best in franchise history, shattering the mark set in 2019-20 (22%).

Combine that with the Wild penalty kill (30th in the NHL at 72.4%) and it's open season for Tomas Hertl (14 power play goals) and Pavel Dorofeyev (13 power play goals). That's good enough reason for experts like Nivison and Bengel to pick Vegas.

That's why both picked them to win the series in five games. Both state that it's tough to evaluate a Wild team that's getting Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov back. However, they also added that they look overmatched in the series compared to the Golden Knights. You can view their picks here.

It's part of why the Golden Knights went 3-0-0 in the season series against the Wild. Of course, fans shouldn't sleep on players like Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov. The latter could effectively steal the series with his scoring prowess. However, he's only one man and hockey is a team sport. Therefore, writers like Nivison and Bengel will lean towards the Pacific Division champions every time.

Fans can count on other publications like ESPN and FOX Sports to side with Vegas in this affair. After all, it's natural instinct to pick a team that looks better (at least on paper). But fans only care about getting the Stanley Cup chase going. Is it Sunday yet?!