Wednesday NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Golden Knights vs Ducks (Dec. 27)
Pictured: Jack Eichel. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Golden Knights vs. Ducks Odds
| Golden Knights Odds | -225 |
| Ducks Odds | +180 |
| Over / Under | 6 -122 / +102 |
The Golden Knights are having an amazing campaign, but they floundered leading into the Christmas break, losing three straight and four of five. We'll examine if Vegas has cause for concern as we preview the upcoming contest and offer a Golden Knights vs. Ducks prediction.
Goaltending is at the heart of Vegas' recent struggles. Adin Hill has been a key part of the Golden Knights with a 10-2-2 record, a 1.93 GAA and a .933 save percentage in 15 contests, but injury troubles have limited him to just 6:25 of ice time in December. In his absence, Logan Thompson has been subpar, posting a 10-5-3 record, a 2.71 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 19 games, including a 3.02 GAA and an .888 save percentage in eight appearances this month. The situation got worse when Thompson sustained an upper-body injury, forcing Jiri Patera to start in the Golden Knights' past two games. The 24-year-old netminder surrendering nine goals on 78 shots (4.66 GAA, .885 save percentage).
With the state of their netminders, the break couldn't have come at a better time for the Golden Knights, but Thompson and Hill might need more time before they're available, so it's possible Patera will be asked to make his third straight start.
At least Vegas isn't dealing with any injuries to its forward corps. The Golden Knights rank 11th this year with 3.37 goals per game and even over their past five matches, in which they're 1-4, the Golden Knights have still managed 3.40 goals per contest.
Jack Eichel leads the team with 15 goals and 39 points through 35 outings, including six goals and 15 points in 11 appearances this month. Mark Stone (11 goals, 35 points), William Karlsson (14 goals, 30 points) and Jonathan Marchessault (17 goals, 26 points) are also having strong campaigns and provide Vegas with multiple high-end threats, often spread throughout three lines. Ivan Barbashev hasn't been quite at that level with nine goals and 18 points in 35 contests, but he's stepped up recently, supplying five goals and 12 points over his past 12 games.
Anaheim can only dream of having an offense like that — the Ducks didn't have a single player with 25 points going into the break. To put that into context, 87 players have recorded at least 25 points, so the average team should have two or three. No wonder the Ducks are all the way down at 29th offensively with 2.58 goals per game.
At least Trevor Zegras returned from a lower-body injury Saturday. He had just a goal and an assist in 12 outings before being shut down, but Zegras' injury had been bothering him for a while, so his poor performance early in the campaign might be a result of that. After being given the chance to recover, he scored a goal in his return.
Even with Zegras, Anaheim doesn't have a lot going for it offensively, and the boost his return provides is being offset by standout rookie Leo Carlsson, who has eight goals and 15 points in 23 games, suffering a right MCL sprain Thursday, which is expected to cost him 4-6 weeks.
Anaheim might not even have a clear advantage in goal, despite Vegas' injury issues on that front. John Gibson has been a mixed bag with a 6-13-0 record, a 2.85 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 21 outings. Lukas Dostal has been even worse, posting a 6-8-0 record, a 3.65 GAA and .893 save percentage in 15 contests.
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Golden Knights vs. Ducks
Betting Pick & Prediction
Vegas is being treated as the overwhelming favorite, and it's not hard to see why. Anaheim has some of the building blocks necessary to contend in the future, but for now, the Ducks' 12-21-0 record is very much deserved. It's not clear who will be available in net for Vegas, which does add an element of uncertainty to this contest, but not it's not enough to sway me away from anticipating a dominant showing from the Golden Knights.
Pick: Vegas Golden Knights Puck Line +114 (Play to +105)
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