In their fourth and last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks collide at the Honda Center. The puck drops at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 23, and you can view this Pacific Division matchup live on NBC Sports Network.
Vegas Golden Knights at Anaheim Ducks Odds
Vegas is 33-30 straight up (SU) and has lost 13.5 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 63 regular season outings, 31 of its games have gone over the total, while 27 have gone under and just four have pushed. As an away team this season, the Knights are 14-16 SU.
Vegas has converted on 21.3 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 25th overall, and it has successfully killed off only 77.4 percent of all penalties.
Vegas, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box 3.8 times per game in the 2019-20 season, 3.6 per game over its last five contests total, and 3.8 per game over its last five road outings. The team has had to kill penalties just 8.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sporting a .906 save percentage and 26.3 saves per game, Marc-Andre Fleury (25-20-5) has been the top option in goal for Vegas this season. Fleury did just play last night, however, so the team might choose to rest him and roll with Malcolm Subban instead (8-11-3 record, .893 save percentage, 3.09 goals against average).
Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty will both lead the way for the visiting Golden Knights. Stone has 59 points via 21 goals and 38 assists, and has recorded two or more points 16 times. Pacioretty has 29 goals and 30 assists to his creditand has logged a point in 39 games.
On the other side of the rink, Anaheim is 24-37 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. 32 of its games have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 12-16 SU as the home team this season.
Anaheim has converted on just 14.6 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s ranked 30th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 23rd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
Anaheim players have been penalized 4.0 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties 8.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
John Gibson (27.7 saves per game) has been the top selection in goal for Anaheim. Gibson has 17 wins, 28 losses, and four overtime losses to his name and has recorded a subpar .906 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average this year.
The home team offense will be led by Ryan Getzlaf (12 goals, 26 assists).
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Anaheim Ducks Free Picks
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Ducks, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
Anaheim is 5-1 in games decided by shootout. Vegas is 3-2 in shootouts.
For both of these teams, the game went over the total in three of their past five matchups.
The Golden Knights are 10-6 in games where they take 10+ shots more than their opponent. They’ve averaged the league’s most shots on goal (34.5) and Anaheim has attempted just the 26th-most (30.1).
Anaheim has averaged 1.7 goals per game, while allowing 3.7, in its last three contests (the team is 0-3 SU over that stretch).
Over Vegas’ last ten games, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-2 in those games).
Vegas skaters have accounted for the league’s fifth-most hits per game (27.2), but that number’s down to just 19.2 hits over their last five away games.