Every season, there are teams that we expect to dominate the NHL odds week after week, and a few that we expect to stink. There are always a couple of teams that seem to come out of nowhere, and it’s fair to say that the Vegas Golden Knights are that team this season. No-one really expects much from an expansion team, especially since they are usually made up of a bunch of guys that are the journeyman in the league, but who have never really posted numbers that would suggest that they could help lead a new team to greatness.
The Golden Knights started the season well, and have continued to roll to the point where they now have the second-best record in the league. The only team that has more points than Vegas right now are the Tampa Bay Lightning, which is why they are the NHL betting lines favorite, so it’s fair to suggest that we might be in for a little bit of a treat when these two hooks up on Thursday night in Tampa. The only other meeting between these two was a good one, so let’s hope for more of the same tonight.
Stamkos is living up to his salary with 17 G and 35 Assists this season, second only to Nikita Kucherov on this team. Their output may help explain why the Lightning is the top scoring team in the league, but we also shouldn’t forget that this is a team that is in the top 3 in goals against. Tampa is 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, and are 17-4-1 on home ice this season.
Las Vegas at Tampa Bay NHL Odds & Game Preview
when the lightning skate quickly does anyone ever say they bolted up the ice?
asking for our imaginary friend 😉 pic.twitter.com/ey3NViT2Tm — Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) 18 de enero de 2018
- When: Thursday, January 18 at 7:30
- Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa
- TV: AT&TSN and SUN
- Radio: 98.5 FM (Las Vegas) / 95.3 FM (Tampa Bay)
- NHL Odds: Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 (Over/Under at 6 goals)
Team Records
- All: Las Vegas Golden Knights 29-11-3 / Tampa Bay Lightning 31-10-3
- Home: Las Vegas Golden Knights 18-2-2 / Tampa Bay Lightning 17-4-1
- Away: Las Vegas Golden Knights 11-9-1 / Tampa Bay Lightning 14-6-2
- ATS: Las Vegas Golden Knights 30-13 / Tampa Bay Lightning 22-22
- Over/Under: Las Vegas Golden Knights 23-18-2 / Tampa Bay Lightning 26-18
2017-18 STANLEY CUP ODDS TO WIN
Recent Head to Head
- Score: Las Vegas Golden Knights 4.00 / Tampa Bay Lightning 3.00
- Shots: Las Vegas Golden Knights 36.00 / Tampa Bay Lightning 38.00
- Power Play Goals: Las Vegas Golden Knights 4 / Tampa Bay Lightning 2
- Number of Power Plays: Las Vegas Golden Knights 5 / Tampa Bay Lightning 4
- Power Play Percentage: Las Vegas Golden Knights 80.00 / Tampa Bay Lightning 50.00
- Penalty Kill Percentage: Las Vegas Golden Knights 50.00 / Tampa Bay Lightning 20.00
Why bet on the Vegas Golden Knights?
Anyone who tells you that they saw the success of the Vegas Golden Knights coming is probably not being entirely truthful. While they started the season with a bang, almost everyone believed that they would eventually fall back to earth with a resounding thud, but we are now beyond the halfway point of the season and Vegas is showing no signs of slowing down. We had a feeling that they might be okay defensively, as the pick-up of goalie Marc Andre Fleury was an inspired one, but it has been their offensive output that has been truly surprising. The Vegas Golden Knights are currently third in the NHL in GPG with 3.3, and they have done a fantastic job of spreading out their scoring output among a lot of different players. Vegas won the earlier meeting with Tampa 4-3, but that one came on home ice. That said, this team is still 2 games above .500 on the road, but are coming into this one with back to back losses under their belts, which is why the NHL odds are not backing them.Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.37
- Shots: 32.93
- PP/PK Percentage: 17.61
Defense
- Goals: 2.72
- Shots: 30.53
- PP/PK Percentage: 17.97
Why bet on the Tampa Bay Lightning?
It’s easy to forget that the Tampa Bay Lightning were in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, but we probably shouldn’t, because this is a team that has been consistently good for a few years now. Injuries have hurt them in the past couple of seasons, but they made it very clear that they were in this thing to win it when they offered Steven Stamkos a big new contract extension when it looked as though he was about to move on to pastures new.
Stamkos is living up to his salary with 17 G and 35 Assists this season, second only to Nikita Kucherov on this team. Their output may help explain why the Lightning is the top scoring team in the league, but we also shouldn’t forget that this is a team that is in the top 3 in goals against. Tampa is 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, and are 17-4-1 on home ice this season.
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.66
- Shots: 33.16
- PP/PK Percentage: 24.36
Defense
- Goals: 2.55
- Shots: 31.45
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.69
Latest NHL Betting Trends
- Golden Knights are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games
- Golden Knights are 14-4 SU in their last 18 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Las Vegas’s last 6 games
- Lightning are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games
- Lightning are 14-5 SU in their last 19 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay’s last 5 games
