NHL Best Bets: Golden Knights vs. Oilers Game Picks

Two of the top projected teams in the Western Conference will collide tonight, with the Vegas Golden Knights visiting the Edmonton Oilers.

All Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

You have to be impressed with the start to the regular season that the Vegas Golden Knights have had. They enter this matchup with a 14-4 record on the campaign while posting an 8-2 record over their past ten. It’s been more of a mixed bag for the Oilers, who sit at 9-8 overall, with a 5-5 record over their past ten games. 

After barely missing the postseason last year, Vegas appears to be a team on a mission, and they have the pieces to be once again classified as a Stanley Cup contender. The Oilers played in the Western Conference Finals last season, and there’s a case to be made that they got better as a team in the offseason, even if that hasn’t come to fruition just yet. 

With their early success, it’s likely not surprising to see the Golden Knights as a top-five team in the NHL in goals scored per game and goals allowed per game. The same can’t be said for the Oilers right now, though, who are a middle-of-the-pack team in goals scored and are near the basement in goals allowed. A big reason is because of their new free-agent goalie Jack Campbell’s struggles, but things will eventually correct themselves in goal once he can build some confidence. 

Looking toward the projected goalie matchup this evening, the Golden Knights are expected to start Logan Thompson, while the Oilers have already confirmed Stuart Skinner will be between the pipes. Thompson has continued to be a pleasant surprise in goal for Vegas, posting a 9-3 record, paired with a .925 save percentage. On the other hand, Skinner has taken on a much more significant role early this season than expected, owning a 3-4 record combined with a .932 save percentage. 

You’ll not often see the Oilers as home underdogs, but this is one of the matchups where it makes sense, considering how good the Golden Knights have played. Knowing that, it’s hard to fade the visitors on the moneyline at this solid price of -115. 

Best Bet: Golden Knights moneyline (-115) 

It’s hard to get a complete read on what to expect in this matchup tonight from the Golden Knights’ perspective, seeing as they’ve been so strong both offensively and defensively. That also checks out with what we’ve seen over their past ten games, which has seen five of those matchups tally seven or more goals. On the other hand, things are reasonably similar with Edmonton, who have seen six of their past ten games end with seven or more goals scored. Even with both goaltenders playing well, these offenses should be able to get work done in this matchup, leading us to side with the over 6.5 at -120. 

Best Bet: Over 6.5 (-120)

Even though we like the Golden Knights to come out on top in this matchup, that doesn’t mean there isn’t value in an Edmonton player prop. It’s hard to avoid targeting one of the Oilers’ superstar forwards on any given slate, suggesting tonight, there’s some value in looking toward Leon Draisaitl to score. The German forward has already compiled nine goals and 19 assists, which makes us love the value price tag he’s generated tonight to score at +128. That’s a number that’s going to be challenging to pass up on this big slate of Saturday night games. 

Best Prop: Leon Draisaitl to Record Over 0.5 Goals (+128)