NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Canucks vs Golden Knights (Thursday, March 7)
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images. Pictured: Thatcher Demko.
Canucks vs Golden Knights Odds
| Canucks Odds | -102 |
| Golden Knights Odds | -118 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 +112o / -138u |
Here's everything you need to know about the Vancouver Canucks vs. Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, March 7 – our expert NHL prediction and pick.
Thursday's matchup between the Canucks and Golden Knights offers a glimpse into a potential first-round matchup out West.
The new-look Knights try to get right after bringing in some significant reinforcements via trade in Noah Hanifin and Anthony Mantha. They have struggled to a 2-7-1 mark over their last 10 games, but they are still 19-9-2 on home ice. The Canucks have also fallen into a down run of play as they own a mark of 4-5-1 over their last 10.
See how I think this one plays out below in my Canucks vs Golden Knights preview, which includes a Canucks vs Golden Knights prediction.
You can count the Canucks among the teams that will be annoyed by the Knights' significant trade additions. There is a reasonable chance the Canucks win the Pacific Division and get a healthy Vegas team in the first round, which would be painfully unlucky.
The Canucks, however, are considered to be among the favorites to land Jake Guentzel from the Penguins, which would certainly help alleviate concerns.
First and foremost, the current iteration of the Canucks need to tune out the outside noise and shore up their play for the postseason.
They won a high quality, playoff-type matchup on Tuesday against the Kings. Head coach Rick Tocchet would love to see his team back that up. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Canucks allowed just three high-danger chances against on Tuesday.
It's been clear over the last month that the Canucks got away from what made them successful earlier in the season. Yes, they scored a ton of goals which made a lot of their games relatively non-competitive. But what was clear in those wins was that they were generating tons of back pressure all over the ice and had become a legitimately irritating side to play against.
The Canucks have hit a wall on offense due to a dip in their shooting percentage and opposing teams tightening up. In 15 games since the All-Star break, their 2.93 xGF/60 ranks seventh to last in the league. They have scored only 2.78 goals per game where it counts.
Their defensive play has been solid. They have allowed only 2.87 xGA/60, which is the fifth-lowest mark in the league.
Thatcher Demko, who is likely to get the start on Thursday, has played to a +18.2 GSAx and .915 save % across 47 appearances.
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With Mark Stone on the long-term injured reserve, Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon had some cap space to work with ahead of the trade deadline. He has made excellent moves so far, bringing in Hanifin and Mantha for very reasonable prices. Somehow, he still has $3 million left to work with, which is especially frightening.
While the moves are good on paper, Vegas needs to snap out of its awful run of play to secure a spot in the dance. The Knights are 2-7-1 over their last 10 games. Over their last 30 games, they are 12-16-2. Since the All-Star break, Vegas has played to an expected goal percentage of 47.11 and has been outscored by eight goals in that span.
This team is not playing like a cup contender, but they have obviously not been playing at their top level. The main reason why has simply been due to several key absences — with Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore and others out of the lineup, they simply haven't had the talent to own play. It's also likely that a level of complacency has crept into their game in the dog days of the season.
Vegas' roster for Thursday night is much more talented as Eichel is back in the mix with Hanifin and Mantha making their team debuts.
Adin Hill is expected to start in goal. He has played to a +13.0 GSAx and .920 save percentage across 26 games.
Canucks vs. Golden Knights
Betting Pick & Prediction
The Canucks played an excellent defensive game on Tuesday against the Kings, leaning on a trademark performance from Demko to claim a 2-1 win in overtime. They should look to win in a similar fashion on the road Thursday night.
Tocchet is always going to preach doing the little things defensively as priority No. 1, and Vancouver seems to be getting back to its identity on that front.
The Knights have been one of the worst defensive teams in the league recently, but they are sure to trend up moving forward. Mantha and Hanifin will help in all facets of the game, including preventing opposition chances. I think the Knights are going to respond and play a sharper game here than we have seen of late. That might not mean generating lots of quality chances versus a stingy Canucks side though.
I can see why this total is 6 with juice to the over given the way recent Knights games have gone. It is likely that we see the Knights clean it up down the stretch though, and I think this divisional showdown has the makings of closely contested affair.
Betting under 6 at anything better than -115 is a play for me.
Pick: Under 6 (+100; bet365) | Play to -115
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