The Ottawa Senators and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights clash at Canadian Tire Centre in an East-West showdown. It’s the first time these two clubs have ever met head-to-head. The matchup will get started at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 4, and you can catch it live on TVA 2.
Vegas Golden Knights at Ottawa Senators Odds
Vegas (+170) is entering this one as the underdog to Ottawa (-200), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Vegas is 8-4 straight up (SU) and has earned 6.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. Seven of its outings have gone over the total, while five have gone under and none have pushed. The Knights are 2-3 SU on the road in 2017-18.
The Golden Knights have scored on 18.0 percent of their power play chances thus far (ranked 14th in the NHL), and they’ve successfully defended 80.0 percent of opponents’ power plays this year (ranked 20th).
The Knights, as a collective unit, have been penalized just 3.8 times per game during the 2017-18 season, 3.6 per game over its last five games total, and 3.6 per game over its last five on the road. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sporting a .925 save percentage and 31.0 saves per game, Marc-Andre Fleury (3-1) has been the top option in goal for Vegas this year. If it decides to rest him, however, Vegas could turn to Oscar Dansk (3-1), who has a .946 save percentage and 1.78 goals against average this year.
James Neal and Reilly Smith will both spearhead the attack for the visiting Golden Knights. Neal (10 points) is up to seven goals and three assists, and has recorded multiple points in four different games. Smith has four goals and five assists to his credit (and has logged a point in five games).
Over on the other bench, Ottawa is 6-7 straight up (SU) and has recorded -2.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 13 regular season contests, eight of its games have gone over the total, while five have gone under and none have pushed. It’s 3-6 SU as the home team this season.
The Senators have converted on just 20.8 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 86.1 percent of all penalties.
Ottawa skaters have been sent to the penalty box only 3.8 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.3, the fourth-highest mark in the league. After serving an average of 10.6 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to kill penalties for 9.2 minutes per outing this season.
Craig Anderson has stopped 26.3 shots per game as the top option in goal for the Senators. Anderson has five wins, five losses, and three overtime losses and has maintained a poor .901 save percentage and 2.93 goals against average this year.
The home team offense will be led by Mark Stone (eight goals, six assists).
Vegas Golden Knights at Ottawa Senators Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Senators, O/U – Over
Betting Trends:
- Vegas has allowed 2.8 goals per game as a team this year, but is giving up 4.7 goals per matchup over its three-game losing skid.
- The Golden Knights are 5-2 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 4-2 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
- Two of Ottawa’s last ten games have been decided by a shootout. The team is 0-2 in those games and 1-4 overall in shootouts this year.
- Vegas may hold the upper hand if it’s a tight one late. The team’s 4-1 in one-goal games, while Ottawa is 2-5 in such games.
- Vegas skaters have averaged 12.4 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 10.0 giveaways per game (ranked 21st).
