Ducks vs Golden Knights NHL Picks, Odds, Prediction (October 28)
Matt Cohen/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, left, and teammate Nicolas Hague.
- The Golden Knights host the Ducks on Friday evening.
- These two teams appear lopsided on paper and our analyst doesn't expect the Ducks to hang with the Golden Knights.
- Grant White breaks it down and shares his best bet below.
Ducks vs. Golden Knights Odds
| Ducks Odds | +225 |
| Golden Knights Odds | -286 |
| Over/Under | 6o-120 |
| Time | 6 p.m. ET |
| TV | ATTSN-RM |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
Judging from their first eight games of the season, the Vegas Golden Knights won't tolerate missing the postseason again. The NHL's second-newest franchise is off to a 6-2-0 start with wins in three of their past four. The next obstacle on the Golden Knights' schedule is a Friday contest against the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim has looked out of sorts early this season and is severely outmatched in this one.
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Anaheim Ducks
One win through the first seven games of the season isn't the start the Ducks were hoping for, and their metrics leave little hope of anything changing soon.
Troy Terry and Adam Henrique are the only Ducks' players with an expected goals-for rating above 50.0% at five-on-five, and neither forward is blowing past the benchmark. Terry is the team leader with a 52.9% mark and Henrique comes in at 51.9%. Everyone else is beneath the break-even point, dragging the team rating down to 40.0%, the second-worst in the league.
The Ducks futile play isn't restricted to a handful of games either. The team has been out-played in nearly every game this season. Anaheim has been out-possessed and out-shot in all but one of its contests. Additionally, the Ducks have attempted more than four high-danger chances just once over their previous four outings.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights are on the opposite end of the analytics spectrum and are getting production from their entire lineup. Sixteen of 20 Golden Knights' players have an expected goals-for rating above 50.0% and no one who has played more than 11 minutes at five-on-five has a mark below 46.8%. Those metrics are even more pronounced at T-Mobile Arena, where the Knights can line match to maximize production.
On the season, Vegas has posted the seventh-best expected goals-for rating at 56.2%. When isolated to home games, that metric jumps to 63.2%, the third-best in the NHL. The Knights are setting themselves apart with a torrid offense. They've attempted 10 or more high-danger chances in all four games and have had 23 or more scoring opportunities in three of four.
However, a free-flowing offense hasn't come at the expense of defensive responsibility. The Knights have out-chanced their opponents in high-danger chances each time out, limiting the visitors to six or fewer opportunities in all but one game. With defensive structure like that, it's not surprising to know that the Golden Knights' goalies have allowed a paltry six goals and are stopping 93.9% of shots.
Ducks vs. Golden Knights Pick
The best teams in the league have a hard time competing in Sin City and the Ducks are not an elite squad. Vegas plays a dominant puck-possession game and the Ducks have spent most of this year chasing the puck. If you're planning on backing the home side, buy sooner rather than later because this line will continue to climb.
Pick: Golden Knights -286
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