by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Dec 03, 2021
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Gila River Arena, Glendale, AZ
Where to watch: ESPN+, Hulu
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Golden Knights -220, Coyotes +180
BetMGM: Golden Knights -222, Coyotes +180
Caesars: Golden Knights -233, Coyotes +190
Season record
Golden Knights: 12-10-0 (5th place, Pacific Division)
Coyotes: 5-16-2 (Last place, Central Division)
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Golden Knights - Coyotes preview and analysis
Recent form
Golden Knights: lost 6-5 at Ducks on Wednesday
Coyotes: lost 5-2 at Wild on Tuesday
It's going to take time for the Vegas Golden Knights to get back to top form.
That's what happens when half your roster is coming back from injury after the first two months of the season.
But despite having some notable names out, the Golden Knights have found ways to stay afloat and keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race. But they've lost three of four and will try to bounce back Friday when they face the lowly Arizona Coyotes in Glendale.
The Golden Knights are coming off a thrilling 6-5 loss to the surging Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. Despite giving up four goals in the second period, Vegas cut the lead to one on two separate occasions in the third period and nearly pulled out a point. Alas, it's been a rough go against division opponents with Vegas dropping consecutive one-goal finishes against the Ducks and Edmonton Oilers.
"At the end of the night, you score four or five goals, you should win," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. "Our attention to detail defensively wasn't good enough."
Max Pacioretty scored his first goal since returning from a broken foot and also had an assist, and Mattias Janmark chipped in one of two shorthanded goals to get the Golden Knights' offense rolling. Five different players scored, but it wasn't enough. Robin Lehner gave up five goals on 33 shots in what was his seventh start in eight games.
"If you want to look at the positive side, I think today with shorthanded goals, and power-play goals and 6-on-5 goals, it's almost like we have to come up with a point," Janmark said. "But we don't, so we pretty much gave this one away."
Lehner has been the reason why the Golden Knights have remained competitive, but it would be a shock to see him start this matchup. Laurent Brossoit is 3-1-0 in four starts and the call to get him more starts should be getting louder. Running Lehner into the ground is not going to help matters. This is the perfect time to get Brossoit into the fold and have him get a start or two.
The Coyotes have shown more spirit than how the beginning of the season transpired. Arizona is coming off a 5-2 loss at the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday but that was the second night of a back-to-back. Arizona traveled from Winnipeg the night before and beat the Winnipeg Jets 1-0 behind a 46-save shutout from rookie goalie Karel Vejmelka.
"I think for a big part of the game we played good," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said Tuesday. "I think their trademark on the other side is their play around the net. They are really good at putting traffic in front of the net, really good at finding pucks. We knew that was a way to beat us. At the same time, we really did a lot. There's a lot of positives in that game."
Scott Wedgewood started Tuesday, but expect the young goalie to get another look against the Golden Knights. Vejmelka had 37 saves in the Coyotes' overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 21.
Prediction
This is a gambler's nightmare unless you're working the moneyline. The Golden Knights are a measly 8-14 against the spread while the Coyotes are at least 10-13. The home team has won nine of the last 11 meetings, but if there's a team for Vegas to take some frustration out before a big week coming up at home, it's the Coyotes. Golden Knights win 5-2
Betting trends
The favorite is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
The over is 4-0-1 in the Golden Knights’ last five outings of a road favorite.
The Coyotes are 1-10 in their last 11 after allowing five goals or more in the last game.
The Coyotes are 2-10 in their last 12 home games.
Projected lines
Golden Knights:
Max Pacioretty -- Chandler Stephenson -- Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault -- Nicolas Roy -- Reilly Smith
William Carrier -- Keegan Kolesar -- Evgenii Dadonov
Mattias Janmark -- Brett Howden -- Michael Amadio
Nicolas Hague -- Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore
Ben Hutton -- Zach Whitecloud
Laurent Brossoit
Coyotes:
Clayton Keller -- Travis Boyd -- Phil Kessel
Antoine Roussel -- Barrett Hayton -- Loui Eriksson
Lawson Crouse -- Christian Fischer -- Alex Galchenyuk
Andrew Ladd -- Ryan Dzingel -- Liam O'Brien
Jakob Chychrun -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Dysin Mayo
Kyle Capobianco -- Anton Stralman
Karel Vejmelka
Statistical leaders
Golden Knights:
Points: Chandler Stephenson – 20
Goals: Reilly Smith – 10
Assists: Chandler Stephenson – 12
TOI: Alex Pietrangelo – 25:36
Goalie: Robin Lehner – 9-9-0, 3.08 GAA, .909 SV%
Coyotes:
Points: Shayne Gostisbehere – 16
Goals: Clayton Keller – 6
Assists: Shayne Gostisbehere – 13
TOI: Jakob Chychrun – 25:07
Goalie: Scott Wedgewood – 3-4-1, 2.75 GAA, .921 SV%
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
