T-Mobile Arena will be hosting a divisional tilt as the first-year franchise Vegas Golden Knights face off against the Vancouver Canucks. The first puck will drop at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 20, and you can see the game live on Sportsnet Pacific.
Vancouver Canucks at Vegas Golden Knights Odds
Netting moneyline bettors 17.5 units, Vegas is 46-26 straight up (SU) overall in the 2017-18 season. Of the team’s 72 games this season, 38 have gone over the total, while 32 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team is 25-11 SU at home this season.
The Golden Knights have been able to convert on 22.3 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s good enough for sixth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 13th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 81.1 percent of all penalties.
As a team, the Golden Knights have been penalized just 3.2 times per game overall this season, and 4.0 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s had to stave off opposition power plays for just 7.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings, in total.
With a .929 save percentage and 28.6 saves per game, Marc-Andre Fleury (26-14-3) has been the best goalkeeper for Vegas this year. If the Knights decide to give him a rest, however, head coach Gerard Gallant might turn to Malcolm Subban (12-4-4 record, .912 save percentage, 2.59 goals against average).
David Perron and Jonathan Marchessault will both be focal points for the Golden Knights. Perron (66 points) has tallied 16 goals and 50 assists and has recorded two or more points on 19 different occasions this year. Marchessault has 22 goals and 44 assists to his name and has recorded a point in 39 contests.
On the other side of the rink, Vancouver is 25-47 straight up (SU) and has lost 15.6 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 41 of its outings have gone over the total, while 31 have gone under and none have pushed. The Canucks are 13-23 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Canucks have converted on 21.9 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 25th overall and it’s successfully killed off 77.8 percent of all penalties.
Vancouver’s players have been called for penalties 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 4.6 per game over their last five road outings. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays just 8.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jacob Markstrom (2.77 goals against average and .910 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Vancouver. Markstrom is averaging 26.2 saves per game and has 18 wins, 35 losses, and seven OT losses to his credit.
Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Canucks will be Brock Boeser (29 goals, 26 assists) and Daniel Sedin (21 goals, 27 assists).
Vancouver Canucks at Vegas Golden Knights Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Golden Knights, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Six of Vegas’ last ten outings have been decided by two or more goals, and the club is 2-4 overall in those games.
- Vancouver has averaged 2.6 goals per game as a team this year, but has been averaging 1.0 goal per contest over its six-game losing skid.
- Power plays and penalty kills could be extremely important in tonight’s game. The Canucks are 9-12 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 15-34 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Golden Knights are 16-11 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 35-17 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Vancouver is 0-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Vegas is 3-2 in shootouts.
- Vegas may hold an advantage if it’s a close one late. The team’s 19-12 in games decided by one goal, while Vancouver is 8-16 in such games.
- The total has gone under in three of Vegas’ last five games.
- Vegas has averaged 12.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 9.4 giveaways per game (ranked 15th in the league).
- Vancouver skaters have averaged 9.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 8.3 giveaways per game (the eighth-fewest in the NHL).
