Coyotes vs. Golden Knights Odds
| Coyotes Odds | +300 |
| Golden Knights Odds | -400 |
| Over/Under | 6.5 (-110/-110) |
| Time | 10 p.m. ET |
| TV | SN360 |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
Circling a little closer to home on their current month-long road trip, the Arizona Coyotes will pay a visit to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
Vagabonds who are waiting for the final touches to be completed at their new home, Mullett Arena, the Coyotes are out to a respectable 6-8-1 start this season, but have lost back-to-back games.
However, the Golden Knights are on a two-game losing streak of their own.
One of these teams will get back into the win column on Thursday. Read on for the latest on both squads and your best bet for the game.
Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes are a team NHL bettors should be monitoring closely this season. They're frequently big underdogs at +300 or more, but have been pulling off upsets with some regularity.
Arizona's six wins have come against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres and the New York Islanders — some pretty respectable opponents.
Operating with the NHL's second-lowest salary commitment this season, the Coyotes were widely expected to be lurking near the bottom of the standings — more focused on securing a high draft choice than being competitive. But even though their expected goals share at 5-on-5 is an NHL-low 38.05%, they're finding ways to get the job done.
Special teams have been terrific. Arizona's power play sits fourth in the NHL with a success rate of 29.6% and seven players have five points or more with the man advantage. The Coyotes' penalty kill is also solid and ranks seventh-best in the league at 82.0%. Goalie Karel Vejmelka has been under-the-radar excellent and ranks fifth with 8.4 goals saved above expected.
When the Coyote lose, they usually lose by multiple goals. But when they can keep it close, they're finding ways to skate away with points in the standings.
Vejmelka has played in 10 of Arizona's 15 games. He was given the night off in the Coyotes' 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers last Sunday, so he should draw back into the lineup against Vegas.
Injury-wise, forward Nick Schmaltz and defenseman Jakob Chychrun are practicing with their teammates, but it doesn't seem likely they'll return in time to face Vegas. Forwards Zack Kassian and Conor Timmins are also listed as day-to-day.
Clayton Keller has been the man offensively. He's on pace to break the point-a-game plateau for the first time in his career with 17 points through 15 games.
Vegas Golden Knights
After missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season, the Vegas Golden Knights have rebounded in a big way under new coach Bruce Cassidy.
Vegas got off to a 13-2-0 start before dropping its two most recent games. Still, the Golden Knights are comfortably atop the Western Conference standings.
Cassidy has his group ranked an impressive fourth in expected goals share at 5-on-5 (55.99%). That's backed up by a Western Conference-best goal differential of plus-19. And while there was concern coming into the season about what the Golden Knights would do in net, Logan Thompson has excelled in his rookie season with an 8-3-0 record, .922 save percentage and 4.0 goals saved above expected.
Thompson took the loss against the Sharks on Tuesday, but only gave up three goals as the other two were scored into the empty net. That game marked his first defeat in three and a half weeks, since Oct. 22.
After their terrible injury luck last season, the Golden Knights are healthy this season, except for players on long-term injured reserve. Jack Eichel is leading the way offensively with 20 points in 17 games.
It is interesting to note Vegas's special teams are not as strong as Arizona's. The Golden Knights rank 13th on the power play (22.5%) and 25th on the penalty kill (75%).
Coyotes vs. Golden Knights Pick
Through the first month of the season, the Golden Knights were finding ways to win nearly every night, but over the past two games, that hot streak has cooled.
It's easy to see why the Golden Knights are heavy home favorites heading into Thursday's game. However, the Coyotes have been disruptors against good teams on more than one occasion this season and that +300 moneyline offers a tempting opportunity to back them to do it again.
Vegas may rebound to close out its homestand on a winning note, but there's great value in backing the Coyotes and their strong special teams to potentially hand the Golden Knights a third-straight loss.
Pick: Coyotes Moneyline (+310) | Play to +250 |
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