Key Storylines, Betting Lines, and Players to Watch: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Washington Capitals Preview

The first long road trip of the season starts tonight against the Washington Capitals for the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights will not return to Vegas until next week after a road trip that takes them to Washington, Montreal, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Dallas.

Betting line: The Golden Knights are -160 with the Capitals at +140 with an over/under of six per STN Sports. 69% of the public is backing the Golden Knights per Covers.com. It would not be surprising to see late money come in on Capitals as the day progresses.

About the Golden Knights (12-2-1, 25 points): The Golden Knights accumulated 60 of their 111 points on the road last season. The road is a comfortable place for the Golden Knights who suffered just three road losses during the 2022-23 playoffs.

Nic Hague, Chandler Stephenson, and Nic Roy remain out for tonight’s game against the Capitals. Stephenson and Roy could both return at some point during the road trip.

Expected lines

Barbashev-Eichel-Marchessault
Carrier-Amadio-Stone
Cotter-Karlsson-Dorofeyev
Rondbjerg-Howden-Kolesar

Martinez-Pietrangelo
McNabb-Theodore
Hutton-Whitecloud

Thompson

About the Capitals ( 7-4-2, 16 points): The Capitals got things going after starting the season 1-3-1. They are 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Alex Ovechkin has started to find his scoring touch after failing to score in the first four games of the season and going shotless in two of those games. Ovechkin has 11 points (4 goals) in the new season. Will Ovechkin’s career last long enough to get 69 more goals to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record?

Golden Knights to watch: Michael Amadio has been noticeable in place of Chandler Stephenson on the second line. William Karlsson continues to perform at a pace that could warrant Selke and Lady Byng consideration. Karlsson won the Lady Byng in the 2017-18 season. Alex Pietrangelo is quietly performing at nearly a point-per-game pace with nine points in 10 games.

Key storylines: The Capitals are back to form and figuring things out. The Golden Knights traveled across three time zones and had a special day at the White House yesterday. This will be a tough game for the Golden Knights.

There very well could be a sluggish start to this game. The Golden Knights last played Friday against the San Jose Sharks and the Capitals last played Saturday against the New York Islanders. It may take both teams time to get their legs under them.

The Capitals have had their issues scoring as they have scored 32 goals and are a minus-5 in goal differential. The Golden Knights have had no issue scoring as they have 58 goals and are a plus-26 in goal differential. A track meet type of game favors the Golden Knights. A low scoring type of game favors the Capitals.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 4:00 p.m. PST.
TV: Scripps Sports
Stream: KnightTime+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340