NHL Wednesday best bets: Golden Knights to rebound vs. Ducks
We have a fun little five-game slate on the docket Wednesday night as we look to get back in the swing of things.
Let's dive into the best ways to attack it.
Golden Knights (-190) @ Ducks (+160)The Vegas Golden Knights are banged up and find themselves in the latter half of a road back-to-back as they come out of the holiday break. Even so, I expect them to get a result in this game.
We've targeted the Anaheim Ducks all season long, and we're not going to stop now. Put simply, the Ducks are an unmitigated disaster. They rank 31st in goals for and 32nd in goals against, and their underlying numbers are equally painful.
At five-on-five, no team has allowed more shots, expected goals, or high-danger chances per minute than Anaheim both this season or over the last 10 games. There are no signs of improvement with this team.
Making matters worse, the Ducks are undisciplined. It's awfully difficult to compensate for horrendous five-on-five play when you're often shorthanded and struggle to survive when that's the case.
Injuries or not, the Golden Knights still rank in the top 10 in expected goal and high-danger chance share over the last 10 games. They've also been firing on all cylinders on the power play, scoring at a more efficient rate than all but the Edmonton Oilers.
This is a dream matchup for the Golden Knights as they look to rebound from a tough divisional loss Tuesday night.
There could be reinforcements on the way, too, as Jonathan Marchessault has been traveling on the team's California road trip.
Whatever the case may be, I expect Vegas to take care of business inside 60 minutes.
Bet: Golden Knights in regulation (-120)
Nikita Kucherov over 3.5 shots (-110)Nikita Kucherov continues to be a player we target primarily on home ice. Although his hit rate is only 6% higher in Tampa than on the road, the process is much better at home.
He averages 7.6 attempts per game in Tampa and has generated eight or more on eight different occasions. On the road, Kucherov generates 6.3 attempts per contest and has cleared eight only three times.
Beyond Kucherov simply being more productive at home, there's a lot to like about his matchup Wednesday. The Montreal Canadiens aren't a good five-on-five team and, perhaps more importantly, they tend to offer opponents plenty of power-play opportunities.
The Canadiens have spent more than six minutes per game killing penalties over their last 10 contests, which ranks in the bottom eight in the NHL. They also bleed shots on the penalty kill.
Look for Kucherov to have a big night.
Alex Pietrangelo over 2.5 shots (-115)Alex Pietrangelo has been a shooting machine since returning to the lineup. Through five games, the veteran defenseman has led Vegas with 34 shot attempts. He's also averaged better than 26 minutes per game and logged nearly 30 more than the closest teammate.
With so many key players missing for the Golden Knights, and against the Ducks, Pietrangelo's shooting ways should continue Wednesday night. Anaheim ranks dead last in attempts against per minute at five-on-five over the last 10 games. The Ducks have also paraded to the box during that span, spending a league-high 7:21 per contest undermanned.
This is a mouthwatering matchup for Pietrangelo. Given his current workload, he'll have every opportunity to take advantage of it.
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
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