Vegas Golden Knights vs. Arizona Coyotes Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/25/2022

Time: 9:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Gila River Arena, Glendale, AZ

Where to watch: BSAZ+, ATTSN-RM

DraftKings: Golden Knights -260, Coyotes +210

BetMGM: Golden Knights -275, Coyotes +220

Caesars: Golden Knights -270, Coyotes +220

Golden Knights: 29-18-4

Coyotes: 13-34-4

Three games into the Jack Eichel experience and all of a sudden there is a buzz with the Vegas Golden Knights once again.

Part of me doesn't wanna get too excited when it comes to the Golden Knights because that one victory on Sunday, winning 4-1 against the San Jose Sharks, might not be enough to get me over me excited for what the golden Knights can become. Let's not forget that Vegas still does not have mark stone being a long-term reserve, but there is a good chance that Zach Whiteclouod will be back for this game.

But as he continues to work his way back into form after undergoing neck surgery and having played only three games in almost a year, all eyes will continue to be on Eichel until further notice. We're counting down the days at this point before he makes his return to Buffalo in a couple of weeks, and after scoring his first goal in over a year on Sunday, how can you not get excited if you're a Vegas fan?

Eichel had a goal and an assist for his first multipoint game with Vegas on Sunday, and linemates Max Pacioretty and Chandler Stephenson also scored to put a stamp on that win. that game was also much needed for Vegas after losing to the Colorado Avalanche and the Los Angeles Kings in consecutive games. Vegas had lost three in a row coming into that night, but thanks to rookie goalie Logan Thompson and his near shut out, it was a good night overall for the Golden Knights.

We're not entirely sure yet if Robin Lehner will be in goal for this game. He did practice the last two days and appears to be ready to go to get back into the lineup after missing time with an upper-body injury. No matter who goes in goal though for Vegas, it should be a rather easy time for Vegas against one of the worst teams in the league. And I don't think it would be wise for Vegas to take Arizona lightly considering Saturday is a rematch against Colorado.

That being said, the Arizona Coyotes are just a mess. And it's not even just the fact that they're a mess on the ice. The coyotes are playing their final few games in the city of Glendale before venturing off to Arizona State’s hockey stadium for the next three seasons.

Arizona's whole situation with this arena problem is probably one of the reasons why there are riots in the streets of Quebec City because how they can not get a team, while the state of Arizona and the city of Glendale had just hung the coyotes up to dry and what has been the most dramatic situation one could ever seen.

Hell, I think Atlanta would take a hockey team right now and do a much better job than what the coyotes are doing right now.

The Coyotes have lost three of their last four including two of three since coming out of the All-Star break. Arizona is coming off a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. Clayton Keller did score a goal, which almost seems kind of ridiculous when you think about it, but I think Arizona will take anything they can get at this point.

It's just such a mess right now for the Coyotes and honestly, it's very shocking that they had not moved to Houston yet. Again, any city with somewhat of a hockey sense would actually take Arizona back right now. I'm sure the negotiation tactics would involve a bag of chips, maybe two sodas, and possibly a DVD copy of Jaws. I don't think anybody would say no to that right now.

Normally this would be considered a trap game for Vegas because of who is coming on Saturday, with Colorado waiting in the wings. But I don't think if you're betting this game, that you should be overthinking this whatsoever. The Golden Knights are starting to get somewhat healthy, and it'll be interesting to see how they navigate their roster over the next few weeks, but right now Vegas could field its AHL team against Arizona and they probably would buy a couple of goals just based on the goaltending alone. So give me the Golden Knights in a runaway victory. Golden Knights win 5-1

The Golden Knights are 48-27 off a win against a division rival the past three seasons.

The Golden Knights are 56-38 after scoring four goals or more the previous game over the past three seasons.

The Coyotes are 30-61 off an under the past three seasons.

Golden Knights:

Max Pacioretty -- Jack Eichel -- Chandler Stephenson

Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith

Mattias Janmark -- Nicolas Roy -- Evgenii Dadonov

William Carrier -- Brett Howden -- Keegan Kolesar

Nicolas Hague -- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore

Ben Hutton -- Dylan Coghlan

Laurent Brossoit

Coyotes:

Clayton Keller -- Travis Boyd -- Nick Schmaltz

Lawson Crouse -- Alex Galchenyuk -- Phil Kessel

NIck Ritchie -- Barrett Hayton -- Loui Eriksson

Antoine Roussel -- Christian Fischer -- Liam O'Brien

Shayne Gostisbehere -- Dysin Mayo

Janis Moser -- Anton Stralman

Jakob Chychrun -- Kyle Capobianco

Karel Vejmelka

Points: Chandler Stephenson -- 40

Goals: Jonathan Marchessault -- 20

Assists: Chandler Stephenson -- 27

Goalie: Robin Lehner -- 19-13-1, 2.86 GAA, .907 SV%

Points: Clayton Keller -- 45

Goals: Clayton Keller -- 21

Assists: Phil Kessel -- 27

Goalie: Karel Vejmelka -- 7-21-1, 3.51 GAA, .900 SV%