Golden Knights vs. Oilers Odds, Picks, Predictions: Both Teams Should Light the Lamp (April 16)

Golden Knights vs. Oilers Odds

Two high-end teams face off Saturday as the Edmonton Oilers host the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights better be careful or else they may miss the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. While they’re riding high, going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, they’re two points behind Dallas (who is also hot) and Nashville, with only seven games to go.

Edmonton has done fantastically since bringing Jay Woodcroft in as interim head coach. Coming off a 4-0 win against the Predators, they’re now 20-8-3 since Woodcroft came aboard. They stand second in the Pacific Division and look to hold onto their playoff spot.

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Golden Knights Still Have Playoff Hopes

The main reason Vegas has struggled all season is because of injury issues. Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty are back from injury, but the Golden Knights still miss Reilly Smith, Nicolas Hague and William Carrier.

Luckily for them, with most of their high-end talent back they’ll be relying on Stone and Pacioretty along with Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, Shea Theodore, and Jack Eichel.

When you have a ton of high-end players, you end up creating a ton of offense. Scoring 3.20 goals per game, they have an expected goals rate of 52.67 xGF% — which is 10th overall — and they generate the fifth-most high danger chances. However, it’s rather surprising that their power play is abysmal, as they only score at a low 17.68 clip.

Defensively, the Golden Knights have been pretty average all season. They let up 2.95 goals per game, but are ranked 25th at letting up high danger chances. The penalty kill also needs to be better, as they fight off the power play 77.3% of the time.

Robin Lehner has had a rough go at it this year because of injuries. Luckily for the Knights, he’s back and is playing fairly inconsistent. For the year, the Swede is posting a .907 SV% and a +6.0 GSAx (Goals Saved Above Expected).

It could be an opportunity for rookie Logan Thompson to get back into play. Thompson has only played once since April 1, but did a fabulous job when Lehner was hurt, with a .925 SV% and a +4.6 GSAx. Keep an eye on this one as we inch closer to puck drop.

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Oilers Elite Offensively

The Oilers are one of the more talented teams on the offensive end. They’re sporting a fully healthy roster, led by superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Edmonton has also gotten solid production out of Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Evan Bouchard is shaping up to become a quality top-2 defenseman..

With such a high-powered offense, the Oilers are one of the better teams at lighting the lamp and driving play. They score around 3.41 goals per game, with an expected goals rate of 51.71 xGF%, while also generating a decent amount of high danger chances.

Not only that, but they have the third-best power play in the league. It may have slipped over the course of the season, but still scores 26% of the time.

When protecting the puck, Edmonton is a pretty average team. Poor goaltending has forced the Oilers to allow 3.12 goals per game, but they do a decent job at limiting opponents' high danger chances. Their penalty kill does need to be better though, with only a 78.2% success rate.

Edmonton’s goaltending situation is a mess — which is putting it nicely. Mikko Koskinen has been inconsistent throughout his tenure in Northern Alberta. The Finnish netminder has a .902 SV% and a -9.4 GSAx.

Mike Smith is a 40-year-old who has also been inconsistent all season while dealing with injuries. He’s been posting a .907 SV% and a +0.7 GSAx, but coming off a 30-save shutout against Nashville. It’s always hard to tell who the Oilers put in net, so I’d monitor it closely.

Oilers vs. Golden Knights Pick

We have two high-powered offenses going at each other with some questionable goaltending. You can always count on Draisaitl and McDavid to make some noise, and on Vegas, you have guys like Eichel, Stone, Marchessault, and Pacioretty.

I don’t necessarily think it’ll matter who starts in net for either team, as I think it could be a high-scoring affair. In each of their past 10 games, the Knights have averaged 3.9 goals per game while Edmonton averaged 3.8 per game.

It just seems that these two teams are the perfect match to light the lamp.

Pick: Over 6.5 (-130)