New Jersey Devils vs Vegas Golden Knights Prediction: Best Bet for Friday

New Jersey generates 32.6 shots per game, the most on Friday's slate, and Vegas allows just 25.1 in a building where the Golden Knights are 6-2-0. The Devils have won four of their last five, but they are 2-3-0 on the road, and Friday asks their volume to survive the toughest home test on the board.

The Matchup

Vegas has the best profile on Friday's small slate, and New Jersey is good enough to make the Golden Knights prove it. Vegas is 9-4-1 with a plus-0.79 goal differential built on 3.57 goals for and 2.79 against per game, and the Knights are 6-2-0 at T-Mobile Arena. Jack Eichel runs the offense with 20 points and 13 assists, and Mark Stone has 8 goals. New Jersey is 8-5-0, scoring 3.31 and allowing 2.92 for a plus-0.38 differential, and the Devils have won four of their last five.

Jack Hughes leads them with 14 points and 10 assists, and Nico Hischier has 7 goals. The territorial fight is the interesting part: New Jersey generates 32.6 shots per game, the most on Friday's slate, while Vegas allows just 25.1. The Devils want a game with volume in it. The Knights' whole defensive identity is refusing to give them one.

Key Factors

Special teams point in opposite directions, and both point toward goals. Vegas converts 25.6 percent of its power plays, and New Jersey kills just 72.4 percent of its penalties, so the Devils' discipline is a real problem in a building where the home team draws energy from every man advantage.

Flip it around and New Jersey gets its own opening: the Devils' 17.5 percent power play faces a Vegas penalty kill at 67.6 percent, tied for the weakest mark on the slate, so a sloppy night from the Knights gives the road team cheap offense it has not earned at even strength. The crease carries the game's one genuine unknown. Carter Hart is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury for Vegas.

Keep an eye on whether Hart plays before placing a bet. If he cannot go, Adin Hill starts, and Hill has been the steadier of the two anyway at 2.63 goals against and a .895 save percentage, against Jake Allen's 3.11 goals against for New Jersey. Faceoffs are dead even, 50.4 percent for Vegas and 50.3 for New Jersey, so nothing comes free at the dot for either side.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.