It’s officially crunch time for the Vegas Golden Knights, who could find themselves outside of the playoff picture this weekend with a poor showing tonight in Anaheim against the Ducks. The home side sits just three points behind the Golden Knights for the final playoff spot in the West and is looking to make some noise themselves tonight.
Will we see a better effort from Vegas tonight than in last night’s 5-2 loss to the Bruins in the desert? Can the Ducks make a push for a playoff spot despite some awful goaltending of late? Find out in our free NHL picks and predictions for Golden Knights vs. Ducks.
Golden Knights vs Ducks odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
Vegas opened as -125 ML favorites but the market is starting to fall for the Ducks who have moved from +105 to +100, and a total of 5.5 that is likely to hit 6. These two teams met in Anaheim in December with the Knights closing as -155 favorites and a total of 5.5.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Golden Knights vs Ducks predictions
- Prediction: Golden Knights ML (-120)
- Prediction: Over 5.5 (-125)
- Best bet: Pietrangelo Over 0.5 points (+115)
Predictions made on 3/4/2022 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Golden Knights vs Ducks game info
• Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
• Date: Friday, March 4, 2022
• Puck drop: 10:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports SoCal, SportsNet Rocky Mountain
Golden Knights vs Ducks betting preview
Key injuries
Golden Knights: Brayden McNabb D (Questionable), Max Pacioretty F (Questionable), Mattias Janmark F (Out), Alec Martinez D (Out), Mark Stone F (Out).
Ducks: Josh Manson D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Golden Knights vs Ducks head-to-head record since 2021
Golden Knights: 8-2 SU, 37 goals for.
Ducks: 2-8 SU, 22 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Golden Knights are 7-1 SU in their last eight games as a road favorite and 8-2 SU against the Ducks in their last 10. Find more NHL betting trends for Golden Knights vs. Ducks.
Golden Knights vs Ducks picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The Vegas Golden Knights have built their roster for the playoffs, but the postseason is anything but a guarantee for Peter DeBoer’s club right now. They were severely outplayed last night at home versus the Bruins, who won 5-2 and are 4-6 SU in their last 10. Vegas is allowing more goals than it scores over that stretch and is sitting in eighth place in the West with the Stars, Ducks, and Canucks hot on their heels.
A loss tonight here would be a tough pill to swallow for the visitors, who have taken two of three from the Ducks this season and eight of the last 10. The last meeting, a 3-1 Vegas victory, was a war of a game that featured 62 minutes in penalties and two fights. Vegas hasn’t played great of late, but DeBoer should be firing his team up for tonight with so much on the line.
With Robin Lehner starting last night, we’d expect to see Laurent Brossoit tonight for the visitors. Brossoit has been active of late and filled in for Lehner while he was out. He is 0-4 SU in his last four starts, but two of those came against the Avalanche where he stopped 41 of 46 shots against arguably the best offense in hockey. Despite possibly going to their second option, the Knights aren’t giving up much in net tonight.
Anaheim’s John Gibson is going through a rough patch right now. The All-Star goalie is 2-5 SU in his last seven with 4.62 GAA. He picked up the win in his last outing but still surrendered three goals to the Bruins. Over his career, the Golden Knights have owned Gibson, who is 3-18 SU with a 3.32 GAA versus Vegas.
The injuries are something the Knights have dealt with all season and tonight’s match isn’t any different. It may be a physical game but the back-to-back isn’t worrying us too much. With a lot on the line, the more experienced team will find out how to win.
Prediction: Golden Knights ML (-120)
Over/Under analysis
The Ducks have hit the Over in six of their last eight games, as their 4.63 GAA since February 1 has aided in their high-scoring games. The offense has been league average averaging 2.88 goals a game, but keeping pucks out of their own net has proved difficult for the young team. Now they’ll have to face a hungry Vegas team that has had no issues racking up goals in previous meetings.
Vegas scored just three times in the last meeting but the players in that game were more concerned with the physicality than the scoresheet. In the previous two meetings, the Knights scored five goals in each game and still only managed to win one of them. Anaheim has allowed at least three goals in eight straight games, and yet, still managed to win three of them.
Defensively, the Knights are in a tough spot with Brayden McNabb departing last night and not returning. His absence would weaken an already injured blue line with Dylan Coughlan likely suiting up and giving the Knights four D-men who are not exactly top pairing guys.
The Anaheim offense rebounded nicely with four goals versus a stingy Boston team in its last outing which was on the heels of getting shutout by the Islanders. This is an average unit at best, but possibly facing Brossoit and a banged-up blue line should help.
The Anaheim power play got going in that win over the Bruins as well and finished 2 for 3 with the man advantage. The Ducks have scored multiple power-play goals in three of their last six, and get to face a Vegas penalty kill that will possibly be without its best special teams man in McNabb. With the way the last game went, we could see plenty of power-play time for both teams.
The last meeting closed at 6 and we’re hitting the Over 5.5 while there are still some available.
Prediction: Over 5.5 (-125)
Best bet
Much like the Penguins vs. Hurricanes game tonight, this matchup is going to be a battle with a ton on the line for both sides and because of that, we’re pivoting to the prop market due to the uncertainties.
WIth McNabb going down, Ben Hutton and Alex Pietrangelo were saddled with the most minutes. Pietrangelo even had the primary assist on the Knights’ final goal, which was just his third point in 15 games as the alternate captain has been struggling of late. The Knights captain still ranks fourth in the league in shot attempts by defensemen, however, and sixth in shots on goal. He is too good of a player to keep down and with so much on the line and McNabb’s injury, Pietrangelo could see more ice time tonight. We faded him yesterday but a lot has changed in 24 hours.
His shot total is at 2.5 and -115 to the Over which is a little rich for our liking. We’re instead going to take the Over on his point prop at +115 as we expect the Knights to flirt with their team total of 4.
Pick: Alex Pietrangelo Over 0.5 points (+115)
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