Welcome back to NHL Predictions with Last Word on Hockey. Here, we provide in-depth insight into the best matchups around the NHL. Today, we dive into the New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights.
Be sure to check out all our writers on NHL Predictions throughout the entire season.
Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: MSGSN, SCRIPPS; ESPN+
The Devils and Golden Knights will meet for the second and final time during the 2024-25 season. Vegas won the first meeting of the year in Newark on February 6. Nicholas Roy and Shea Theodore helped the Knights stake a 2-0 second-period lead before Jack Eichel iced the game in the third period. Ondrej Palat broke up the shutout bid from Adin Hill in the final minutes. Vegas outshot New Jersey 40-15 for the night.
The Devils will look to win both ends of a back-to-back that saw them skate away with a win over the Utah Hockey Club, 3-1, on Saturday. Timo Meier scored 14 seconds into the third period and Nico Daws made 24 saves to remain a perfect 3-0-0 in the NHL.
The Devils hope to start a winning streak with another win on Sunday. Over their last 10 games, they are 5-5-0 and have alternated wins and losses. They last won two straight games in late January after defeating Boston and Montreal shortly before the two-week break.
Jack Hughes has led the charge of late gathering a point in 12 straight games away from Newark. He collected his 70th point of the season. He has scored in 11 of the last 12 games he has played for the Devils. The lone blemish was the prior meeting with Vegas. Jesper Bratt‘s 51 assists rank fifth in the league and his 68 points rank 11th.
Jacob Markstrom has resumed skating with the team and should rejoin the lineup in the coming days. Jake Allen and Daws have filled in nicely in his absence. Daws has stopped 85 of the 88 shots he has faced in his three-plus appearances. Daws started Saturday, and Allen removed himself from Wednesday’s game with reported cramping. If the discomfort has subsided then Allen would likely get the start. He stopped 37 of 40 Vegas shots in the first meeting.
Vegas enters the day with a two-point lead on the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific division. While it’s no surprise Vegas is once again a cup contender, Edmonton would have been thought to be the heavyweight in the division this year. They are coming off a 7-5 win over the Chicago Blackhawks back on Thursday. After a tough January, they are 4-1-0 since ending a prior four-game skid against these Devils.
Eichel leads the way with 70 points and sits fifth in the NHL with 51 assists. Pavel Dorofeyev continues to have a breakout season for the Knights leading the way with 24 goals. Tomas Hertl is close behind the 23 goals and 46 points.
Hill is currently listed to get the start in net. He faced the Devils in the previous meeting and stopped 14 of the 15 shots he faced. Hill has appeared once since returning from the break and stopped 33 shots against Vancouver. On the season, he has a 2.59 GAA and .903 SV% in 35 starts.
It was a one-sided affair the first time these teams met in New Jersey. Vegas did a great job of shutting down a Devils offense that has disappeared at times this season. The Devils are still struggling to put the puck in the net consistently and their record is starting to show that. It will be hard for Vegas to be as dominant as they were in the first meeting, but there is little reason to think this will turn into a track meet.
Prediction: Golden Knights win 3-2.
This round of NHL predictions wraps up with some prop bets. Vegas has been hot over the past month while the Devils are still trying to catch their footing as their playoff stranglehold has slipped since the New Year. We like Vegas at -150 to continue their winning ways. Consider taking a shot on Timo Meier to find the back of the net for New Jersey on back-to-back nights. He only has 16 goals this year, but he has been snake-bitten as of late and is pressuring the net well – eventually something has to give.
Main photo by: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
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