Vegas Golden Knights Vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Odds, Picks, and Predictions (3/11/22)

By Scott Steinberg | Mar 11, 2022, 8:00am

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Vegas is scoring 3.1 goals per game, ranking them 13^th in the NHL and attempting 34 shots per game, eighth overall. The club has six players in their lineup that have scored at least 10 goals. On the defensive side, the Golden Knights are allowing 2.9 goals per game which is 16^th in the NHL and yielding 29.7 shots a game, eighth overall. The Golden Knight lost on Thursday to the Sabres on the road 3-1. Vegas is 32-23-4 with 68 points, third place in the Pacific Division. Pittsburgh is scoring 3.2 goals per game, 12^th in the league and taking 34.7 shots per game, sixth overall. In 2021-22, Pittsburgh has scored 186 goals as a team. Defensively the Penguins are allowing 2.6 goals per game, ranked fourth overall and 30.3 shots per game, ninth in the league. Pittsburgh is 34-15-9 with 77 points, tied for second in the Metropolitan Division.

Vegas Golden Knights Vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Odds

The Golden Knights are 20-7 in their last 27 games playing on no days’ rest. Under is 5-1-1 in Vegas’s last seven games vs. a team with a winning record. The favorite is 6-1 in the last seven meetings between the Golden Knights and Penguins. Vegas is +1000 to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The Penguins are 2-7 in their last nine home games. Pittsburgh is 7-1 in their last eight games playing on two days’ rest. Over is 6-1 in the Penguins last seven home games. The Penguins are +1600 to win their sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Vegas Golden Knights Odds

Mark Stone, the Golden Knights captain is out indefinitely due to a back injury. On the season he has 28 points in 28 games (eight goals and 20 assists). He’s a +7 with two game winning goals on the year. Jonathan Marchessault leads the team in goals with 24 and points with 43 in 52 contests. He has 14 points on the power play (five goals and nine assists) and he’s one of the team leaders in game winning goals with three. Chandler Stephenson is second on the Golden Knights in points with 42 (14 goals and 28 assists), besting his career high of 35 set last season. He’s a +4 with seven points on the power play (one goal and six assists). Stephenson has two game winning goals this season. Reilly Smith has 38 points in 56 games (16 goals and 22 assists). He’s listed as out for Thursday’s game at Buffalo due to an undisclosed injury. Max Pacioretty has battled injuries this season and has 28 points in 27 games he’s played in. He’s a +6 with nine points on the power play this year. Pacioretty has scored at least 30 goals in six different seasons in his career. Jack Eichel has scored seven points in first 10 games with Vegas. He scored the game winning goal the past Sunday against the Ottawa Senators, which was a power play tally for the Golden Knights. On Thursday night, he returned to play against his former team, the Buffalo Sabres. In the loss, the former Buffalo captain

had two shots on goal.

Shea Theodore leads the Vegas defensive group in points with 36 (eight goals and 28 assists). He’s a +3 with 67 blocked shots while averaging 23:20 of ice time per game. Alex Pietrangelo is averaging 25:10 of ice time per game this year. Playing his second season with the Golden Knights, he has 30 points (seven goals and 23 assists), while placing second on the team in blocked shots with 124. Zach Whitecloud has appeared in 38 games and has tallied 14 points. He’s averaging 19:18 of ice time per game and ranks third on the club in blocked shots with 85. Brayden McNabb is out indefinitely due to an undisclosed injury. He leads the club with 141 blocked shots and third on the club in hits with 113; Keegan Kolesar leads the team with 151 hits.

Robin Lehner has started 38 games as the Golden Knights number one goalie. In 2021-22, he’s 21-15-1 with a .909 save percentage and 2.77 GAA. He’s listed as out for Thursday’s game against the Sabres due to a lower body injury. Laurent Brossoit has proved to be a quality backup and has started 19 games for Vegas this year. He has a record of 10-7-3 with a 2.72 GAA and a .901 save percentage.

Pittsburgh Penguins Odds

Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins in goals with 28 and points with 58. He has 17 points on the power play in 2021-22. He’s a +10 and averaging 19:48 of ice time per game. Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby is second on the team in scoring with 56 points in 46 games (19 goals and 37 assists). The two-time Hart Trophy winner is a +13 and averaging 19:55 of ice-time per game. The three-time Stanley Cup winner has 505 career goals; he is the 46^th player in NHL history to score at least 500 career goals. Bryan Rust has 45 points in 2021-22 (19 goals and 26 assists). He’s a +12 and averaging 18:46 of ice time per game for Pittsburgh. Evan Rodrigues has 35 points in 58 games this campaign (16 goals and 19 assists). He’s a +3 and tied for the team lead in power play goals with seven. Evgeni Malkin who’s missed a majority of the season due to off-season knee surgery, has played in 22 games. The 2011-12 Hart Trophy winner has 24 points (10 goals and 14 assists) in his limited time on the ice this year.

Kris Letang is the team’s third leading scorer with 49 points (six goals and 43 assists). The two-time Stanley Cup winner is a team leading +16 while logging the most ice time per game by a Pittsburgh defenseman at 25:51. He has 95 blocked shots and has been physical delivering 120 hits (second on the team behind forward Zach Aston-Reese’s 174). In his 16^th season, Letang is listed at +10000 to win the Norris Trophy. Mike Matheson has scored seven goals on the year with five of those being game winners. He’s out indefinitely due to an upper body injury. Brian Dumoulin has 15 points this year and second on the team in plus/minus at +14. Dumoulin has blocked a team high 102 shots this campaign and averaging 22:04 of ice time per game.

Tristan Jarry has started 43 games between the pipes for the Penguins this season. He’s 27-12-6 with a .920 save percentage and a 2.34 GAA. He also has four shutouts this season: tied for third in the NHL. Jarry is currently +5000 to win the Vezina Trophy. Backup Casey DeSmtih is 6-3-3 in 2021-22 with a 2.98 GAA and .905 save percentage

Vegas Golden Knights Vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Picks & Prediction

In the clubs last meeting on January 17, 2022, Pittsburgh defeated Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena 5-3. The last time the teams met in Pittsburgh was October 19, 2019, with Vegas winning 3-0. The Golden Knights are 0-4 in their last four game vs. a team with a winning record. Under is 3-1-1 in the Penguins last five games vs. a team with a winning record. In this matchup between two Stanley Cup contenders, I’m going with the home team Penguins to win this contest by 1.5 goals.

Scott Steinberg

Scott has been a sports fan since he received a New York Mets jacket as a toddler. He’s been playing fantasy baseball and football for over 20 years, dating back to Frank Thomas being one of his first fantasy baseball picks. As a professional, he has covered the NFL, MLB, NCAAF, and NCAAB and is looked to as the go-to guy for fantasy sports amongst family, friends, and co-workers.