The Detroit Red Wings and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights clash at Little Caesars Arena in an East-West matchup. It’s the second time these teams have met in the regular season. The match will get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 8, and it will be showcased live on Fox Sports Detroit.
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Detroit Red Wings Odds
Vegas (-145) is currently the favorite over Detroit (+125), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-125 under, +105 over).
Vegas is 42-24 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 17.0 units this season. 36 of its outings have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Knights are 18-15 SU as the road team in 2017-18.
Vegas has converted on 21.8 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for seventh-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 17th overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 80.5 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Knights have been sent to the penalty box just 3.3 times per game during the 2017-18 season, and 4.4 per game over its last five contests. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .926 save percentage and 28.5 saves per game, Marc-Andre Fleury (22-12-3) has been the primary option in goal for Vegas this year. If head coach Gerard Gallant chooses to rest him, however, Vegas might go with Malcolm Subban (12-4-1), who has a .912 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average this year.
Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith will both be relied on to facilitate things for the visiting Golden Knights. Marchessault (65 points) has tallied 22 goals and 43 assists, and has recorded multiple points 20 times. Smith has 22 goals and 38 assists to his name (and has notched at least one point in 39 games).
On the other side of the ice, Detroit is 26-40 straight up (SU) and has lost 11.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 39 of its contests have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just one has pushed. This year, the team is 13-21 SU at home.
The Red Wings have converted on just 18.8 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Red Wings players have been called for penalties 3.7 times per game in total this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jimmy Howard has stopped 26.5 shots per game as the primary netminder in goal for the Red Wings. Howard has 18 wins, 32 losses, and eight overtime losses to his credit and has maintained a .911 save percentage and 2.80 goals against average this year.
Dylan Larkin (nine goals, 40 assists) will lead the attack for the Red Wings.
Vegas Golden Knights at Detroit Red Wings Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Red Wings, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Detroit is 4-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Vegas is 2-2 in shootouts.
The under has hit in three of Detroit’s last five games.
Detroit has scored just 2.5 goals per game (while allowing 4.0) over its four-game losing skid.
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