The Vegas Golden Knights (14-5-4) will try to end a three-game losing streak on Thursday when the reigning Stanley Cup champions visit an exiting Vancouver Canucks (15-7-1) team.
The Pacific Division clash is expected to produce plenty of goals, with bookmaker Pinnacle offering odds at -109 for over 6 goals. The odds are at -156 for the hosts to score over 2.5 goals, and Vancouver’s goals total stands at 3.5, with the odds for the over at +129.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 29th, 6:00 P.M. (EST)
The Canucks have been on fire the entire season and are just short of averaging four goals per game, boasting a 3.96 scoring average. The top three spots on the NHL’s scoring list belonged all to Canucks players recently, and Brock Boeser is currently the league’s best goal-scorer with 17 markers to his name through 23 appearances.
It’s been a sensational bounce-back campaign for Boeser after he finished last season with just 18 goals. However, the American winger sits only fourth on the team’s overall scoring charts, with J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, and Elias Pettersson all having reached the 30-point plateau. There are only five other players in the league who have hit the 30-point mark this season.
Vegas’ attack hasn’t been bad either, with 3.09 goals scored per game, but the team has shown more class defensively. Only the Los Angeles Kings (2.37) boast a lower goals-against average than the Golden Knights’ 2.44. However, these are testing times for Vegas defensively, as Alec Martinez has been troubled by a lower-body injury, and Shea Theodore has just undergone surgery to fix an upper-body problem.
Theodore has contributed four goals and 14 assists in 20 games, meaning he will also be missed in the attack. Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, and Mark Stone are the only Golden Knights players to register more points than him in 2023-24. The trio will now need to add a little extra to their performance to compensate for the loss of Theodore.
Facing the Canucks has previously suited well for Vegas. They have won nine of the past 12 trips to Vancouver. Matches at the Rogers Arena are typically high-scoring as well, with the over having gone 9-3 in the most recent games. Overall, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings between the two teams. Last season, there were a whopping 22 goals in three head-to-head clashes.
