Vegas Golden Knights vs. Vancouver Canucks: Odds, Prediction
It’s the penultimate home game of the 2017-18 season for Vancouver on Tuesday night as it hosts the most successful expansion team in NHL history, the Vegas Golden Knights.
Golden Knights vs Canucks Betting Analysis
The Canucks probably will be thrilled to be done with the Golden Knights this season considering Vegas routed Vancouver 9-4 in the preseason and is 3-0 when it counts, outscoring the Canucks 15-6. All three games have been decided by three goals. The one in Vancouver was the first official meeting between the franchises, a 5-2 Vegas win back on Nov. 16 – it was 2-2 entering the third period.
William Karlsson leads the Golden Knights with six points (3G, 3A) vs. Vancouver, while Jonathan Marchessault has five points (3G, 2A). Three different goalies have seen the ice vs. the Canucks, but Vegas No. 1 Marc-Andre Fleury is 2-0-0 with a 2.52 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. Marchessault, incidentally, is tie for the team lead in scoring (75 points) and is one of three players to score at least 25 goals this season (27) who had at least 25 last year with a different team. He had 30 with Florida in 2016-17.
Vancouver’s Jacob Markstrom is 0-2-0 vs. Vegas with a 3.45 GAA and .877 SV. These teams also made a deal at the Feb. 26 deadline, with Vancouver acquiring forward Brendan Leipsic from Vegas for defenceman Philip Holm. Leipsic had been selected from the Maple Leafs in the NHL Expansion Draft. He has two goals and five assists in 11 games since joining the Canucks but is currently dealing with an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since March 22.
Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas (50-22-7) has clinched the Pacific Division title and is only the sixth expansion team to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season in the four major North American sports leagues since 1960 — not counting teams that came from another league via merger. This starts a three-game road trip and there’s not a heck of lot for the Knights to play for the rest of the regular season. They come off a 3-2 home win over San Jose on Saturday. Karlsson scored the winning goal short-handed on a breakaway at 8:35 of the third. It was the second straight game he scored a short-handed breakaway goal. Vegas has been without winger David Perron, third on the team with 66 points, for the past three games with an undisclosed injury and there’s no reason to rush him back before the playoffs.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks (30-40-9) have won four straight, tying a season high, after beating Columbus 5-4 in overtime Saturday. With Markstrom dealing with a minor lower-body injury and backup Anders Nilsson feeling under the weather, Thatcher Demko made his NHL debut and allowed four goals on 30 shots. The 22-year-old goaltender is a former second-round pick (2014) who had spent the past two seasons in the AHL with the Utica Comets and was an AHL All-Star this year. Remains to be seen who will be in net Tuesday. Alex Edler scored the winner against the Jackets 1:21 into overtime.
