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Golden Knights Give St. Louis the blues

Knights Take Out Blues This Time

Vegas knows it let one slip away when the Golden Knights couldn’t finish off St. Louis the last time they met. The Blues edged the Golden Knights in a shootout, but Vegas will be favorites here per the NHL betting odds.

The Knights outshot the Blues 46-25 in a game that saw several momentum shifts and rough play. These teams detest each other and you can bet online there will be plenty of playoff-like drama in this Friday night NHL matchup.

Jonathan Marchessault #81 of Vegas hits the post with his shootout vs Jordan Binnington. Read the Golden Knights vs Blues betting preview
Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

Golden Knights vs Blues Preview

Golden Knights: Defending Their Place

Vegas leads the West with a 16-6-1 record. They actually have the best point percent (71.7) in the NHL outside of the Central triumvirate. But you can consider Vegas to have a “padded” record as most of their points have come against the lower teams.

In their five games against the other three contenders in the divisions, Vegas is only 4-4-1 with a +3 rating. Not bad, but far from the dominant team their overall standing indicates. But there’s no need to worry, Knights fans. Vegas is still mostly in control.

The Knights have a positive corsi against every team except for Colorado, who they’ve split the season series with. Vegas has the second-best corsi for percent (CF%) in the NHL west division and the best penalty killing. A lot of this is due to Mark Stone’s Selke-worthy play.

The Manitoban leads the team with a +13, a plus-minus that means something given his CF% during short-handed and even-strength situations. He’s also pacing the team with 28 points in 22 games. The Knights’ defense is stalwart led by Stone and they’ll defending their top spot with it.

Blues: Surviving the Bug

Few teams in the West have been hit harder by the injury bug than the Blues. The team is missing a glut of their defensemen and centers beginning with Tyler Bozak (upper body) going down in late January.

St. Louis has gotten by the skin of its teeth. They have five wins by more than one goal all year as evidenced by their horrid puck line record (6-20 and winless in their last ten). While they’re a bust for online wagering, they’re still among the best in the division.

They are just behind the Knights in goal-scoring pace (3.15) and that’s with a 19 percent power play (4th in the division). The Blues are producing ample scoring chances and capitalizing on them.

Generally, they’re hovering around the middle of the division in most metrics. They’re not blowing anyone away, but they’re also competitive enough to not get exploited. This is a solid win given how many players they’re missing.

Pick

I’m cheering for the underdogs here, but the Knights will be too good for the Blues. They survived Vegas partly thanks to some superb goaltending from Jordan Binnington. But the Knights did not have Vezina frontrunner Marc-Andre Fleury in net. He might go for it this time.

Fleury is insane right now with a 93.4 even strength save percent and a +14.4 goals saved above average (GSAA). He owns 12 of Vegas’s 16 wins and with the Knights’ advantage on 5-on-5, there is a chance this one becomes a romp.

But St. Louis finds ways to score on their chances and even if Vegas isn’t perfect even if they don’t make too many mistakes. Plus, this game will likely get chippy again given how competitive both teams are.

When push comes to shove, I have to back the healthier and stronger Knights here. Fleury also gives them an edge so they should pull this one out.

Pick: Vegas Golden Knights to win

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