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Posted at 3:00 PM EST.

10:35 PM EST. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again that the Las Vegas Golden Knights are a very good hockey team. They are not only good but they’re focused and they work hard while rarely taking a shift off. Winning games came easy for the Golden Knights a year ago but they have been humbled this season and are learning a hard lesson that hard work doesn’t always pay off when your goaltending is weak. There is not only a great chance that the Knights will outplay the Ducks tonight, it is unreasonable to expect otherwise because the analytics say so. The Knights are a top-three Corsi For squad while the Ducks are a bottom three. That said, goaltending decides games more than anything else, which gives the Ducks the biggest advantage in this game but there’s more. Vegas returns home from a tough four-game trip through Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Boston.They outplayed three of those four teams but went 1-3. Prior to that, the Knights were at home for just one game against the Hurricanes after two more road games in Nashville and St. Louis. This is now the eighth straight game in which the Knights have had to board a plane and travel to their next destination. They have not played two home games in a row since October 26 & 28 so that’s 16 days of extensive travel. Then there’s a confidence issue. When goaltending is shaky it affects the entire team. Guys lose confidence and play on their heels for fear of making a mistake. Marc Andre Fleury ranks 53rd among 63 qualified goaltenders in GSAA right above Cam Ward and recently waived Michael Hutchison. Remember when the Coyotes were hot and now they’re cold? It’s not because they are playing worse. It all coincides with Antti Raanta being healthy or injured. Why are the Islanders winning so many games this year? It’s all because out of nowhere, Thomas Greiss ranks 5th in GSAA and 6th in SV%. Marc Andre Fleury caught fire last year and the Knights rode a wave of emotion and some good fortune to one of the most memorable seasons by any team in any sport ever. They were legit and they are legit this year but the dynamics are not the same. The Knights are not winning easy anymore, they’re frustrated, tired and also have three key players on the rack still (Haula, Schmidt and Stastny) while Max Pacioretty has been invisible. Enter John Gibson and the Ducks. Whether Anaheim goes with Gibson or Ryan Miller tonight matters not, as both have been exceptional. With great goaltending, winning is always possible and now the Duxcks have a little momentum and more confidence after snapping the Preds eight game, road winning streak on Monday. The return of Andrej Gase is a significant one and while they lost Cam Fowler to a broken cheekbone, Anaheim is deep enough on the back end to compensate. In a favorable situational spot and with the hottest and possibly the best goaltending tandem in the NHL, of course the Ducks can win here.

Therefore:

OT included - Anaheim +160 for 1 unit.

Regulation only - Anaheim -½ +275 for 1 unit. 

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