The Vegas Golden Knights, fueled by Alex Tuch and Jonathan Marchessault, are ready to take the ice against Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center in a Western Conference tilt. The action will get underway at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 12, and it can be viewed live on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.
Vegas Golden Knights at Chicago Blackhawks Odds
The Golden Knights (-165) are being picked as the favorites over the Blackhawks (+145) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Vegas is 27-20 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.5 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 47 regular season contests, 24 of its games have gone under the total, while 20 have gone over and just three have pushed. This 2018-19 Golden Knights team is 12-13 SU on the road.
Vegas has converted on 19.7 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Additionally, it has the seventh-best penalty kill in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off 83.8 percent of all penalties..
Sporting a .912 save percentage and 25.4 saves per game, Marc-Andre Fleury (25-15-4) has been the top option in goal for Vegas this year. If Vegas chooses to rest him, however, head coach Gerard Gallant might roll with Malcolm Subban (2-6), who has a .904 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average this year.
Chicago is 16-30 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. 26 of its contests have gone over the total, while 17 have gone under and just three have pushed. The team’s 8-15 SU at home this year.
The Blackhawks have converted on just 16.7 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that places them in the bottom 10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 31st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 73.7 percent of all penalties.
Corey Crawford (28.3 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for the Blackhawks. Crawford has six wins, 17 losses, and two OT losses to his name and has recorded a mediocre 3.28 goals against average and a subpar .902 save percentage this year.
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Chicago Blackhawks Betting Predictions
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Blackhawks, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- Over Vegas’ last ten games, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-0 in those games).
- Power-play chances may be extremely important tonight. The Golden Knights are 12-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 22-15 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Blackhawks are 5-11 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 12-23 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Vegas might hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 11-9 in games decided by one goal, while Chicago is only 8-14 in such games.
- For both of these teams, the game went over the total in three of their last five matchups.
- Vegas skaters have averaged 11.0 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 9.3 giveaways per game (ranked 13th).
- Chicago is ranked 8th this season with 8.7 giveaways per game. That figure has regressed recently, as it’s averaged 9.7 giveaways over its last 10 games and 11.2 giveaways over its last five.
- Vegas skaters have dished out the fourth-most hits in the league (26.9 per game), but that number’s down to just 24.0 hits over their last five away games.
