Sunday in the NHL brings us a Western Conference bout between the Vegas Golden Knights and Chicago Blackhawks.
These teams meet for the second of three matchups this season, after the Golden Knights earned a 4-3 shootout win in December.
Both could certainly use a win, so expect the two teams to come out hungry.
The Vegas Golden Knights have one of the most star-studded rosters in the entire NHL, but overall they have not had great results.
Vegas has accumulated just 17 wins in 39 games but they are second in the Pacific Division, just one point behind the leading Edmonton Oilers with three games in hand.
This is a great spot to be in, but they really need to take advantage of the opportunity to own the division lead again.
It’s hard to see them letting this game slide. It has been a rough time for Chicago overall, but since their star forward Connor Bedard has been sidelined with an injury, things have been even worse.
While their last two games include wins over contending teams (Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals), it is difficult to envisage this will start a miraculous run.
They should have a hard time against Vegas. This is Chicago’s second game in as many nights, and travel from Washington to Chicago was required last night.
They will likely be starting backup goaltender Arvid Soderblom, who has posted a goals against average of 4.02 and save percentage of .873.
First-year Golden Knight Mitch Marner has had a decent season thus far for Vegas. He has accumulated 40 points in 39 games, but expectations coming into his first season with the team were far greater.
If this trend continues, he is on pace for an 18-point drop off from last season.
A key factor has been Marner’s goalscoring. He has accumulated just nine goals, which has him on pace for roughly 19, which would be his lowest since the 2019-20 season.
He hasn’t scored in four games, but prior to that he was showing strong signs, with three goals in two games, and could have some joy on Sunday.
Marner hasn’t magically lost his major offensive skill, and is still a threat. He will be desperate to bury goals at a higher rate, and against a weak defensive team in Chicago in the second half of a back-to-back, this presents an excellent opportunity.
Vegas scores at an average of 3.10 per game, and while that is already a decent result, I think they have far greater potential with the star-studded roster they possess.
They could break out any game, and this matchup gives them a chance of doing so as they look for a similar result to the seven-goal effort achieved against the San Jose Sharks on December 23rd.
They should come out hungry, and will have no excuses against a weaker and potentially fatigued opponent. Chicago does not score at an incredibly high rate (2.73 per game), but they will need to put their best foot forward if they want to keep up with a potential onslaught from Vegas.
A few nice recent wins from the Blackhawks should spark some confidence in the team and result in some offense being found.
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Vegas Golden Knights
-260
Chicago Blackhawks
+210
Puck Line
VEG Golden Knights -1.5 (+100), CHI Blackhawks +1.5 (-120
Total
Over 6.0 (-120) , Under 6.0 (+100)
Jack Eichel
+135
Mark Stone
+170
Pavel Dorofeyev
+170
Tomas Hertl
+180
Mitch Marner
+210
Tyler Bertuzzi
+220
Ivan Barbashev
+240
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
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