Can the Vegas Golden Knights avoid the dreaded letdown game against the Arizona Coyotes? The Golden Knights arrived in Arizona feeling good about themselves after snapping the Edmonton Oilers’ 16-game winning streak on Tuesday night. DraftKings Sportsbook has the Golden Knights as minus-135 favorites.
The potential is there for a letdown game for the Golden Knights. By all accounts, this is a game the Golden Knights should win. The Golden Knights also should have won their game on Nov. 25 against the Coyotes in Vegas. Instead, the Coyotes defeated the Golden Knights 2-0.
The Coyotes have some bulletin board material to use as motivation. William Karlsson mentioned the Golden Knights “beat the s---” out of the Arizona Coyotes in season one during his Stanley Cup championship speech. Coach Bruce Cassidy also gave the Coyotes something to hold on to.
“We had 24 giveaways. I’m not sure you’re beating the Arizona Coyotes in January with 24 giveaways,” Cassidy after losing a game to the Dallas Stars during last season’s playoffs. “No disrespect to Arizona, but it’s not the right way to play.”
The Golden Knights enter Thursday’s game 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Away from T-Mobile Arena, the Golden Knights are 11-10-4. The Coyotes are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and have a home record of 15-9-0.
It could take a while for the Coyotes to find their legs. The Coyotes’ last game was on Jan. 27. The Golden Knights will look for an early jump against the Coyotes.
The newly formed line of Nic Roy, Jonathan Marchessault, and Ivan Barbashev remains red hot. Roy and a goal and Marchessault had an assist in Tuesday’s victory against the Oilers. Chandler Stephenson chipped in with the game-winning goal and an assist. William Karlsson scored an empty net goal in his first game since the Winter Classic.
The starting goaltender for the Golden Knights is a mystery as of writing. DailyFaceoff.com reports Logan Thompson as the unconfirmed starter. Adin Hill did not practice with the Golden Knights on Wednesday and there was no update provided for Hill’s absence.
Thompson gave up 10 goals on 66 shots faced in his last two starts, both in losing efforts. Hill has been red hot in his last three starts going 3-0 and allowing five goals on 111 shots faced.
Connor Ingram is the expected starter for the Coyotes and is 17-11-1 with a 2.6 GAA and .916 SV%. Ingram shut out the Golden Knights the last time these two teams met.
How to watch
Time: 6:00 P.M. PST.
TV: Vegas 34 (Scripps Sports)
Streaming: KnightTime+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340
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