If they get excellent health, they'll win the division.
However, that seems like a pipe dream. So I have them in 3rd or 4th. Playoffs depend on the strength of the division which at the moment I see as poor. https://t.co/UVtSGcHytZ
Roy. I think his deal is done already but they are slow rolling it for a reason unbenounced to me. Long-term deal, right around the numbers we've been projecting would be my guess. ($2.5-3.5 mil) https://t.co/Xl8HQJ507F
Even before the Golden Knights had ever played a game, the longest running sponsor of SinBin.vegas, William Hill, was with us. As part of our amazing partnership with the best sports book in the world, we keep a log on the odds of every Golden Knights game and track the amount of money a $100 bettor would win or lose betting on every game.
You can find these numbers updated the morning after each game on our dedicated “Odds” page that lives here. Because I’m aware that many people don’t visit this page often, today we’re going to point out some highlights from the first five years of VGK hockey from a betting perspective.
First, and most importantly, if you had bet exactly $10 on every Golden Knights game, you would have made $38.13 over the course of the 439 combined regular season and playoff games.
However, that’s not typically how sports gamblers operate because they really hate dealing with loose change. So, instead, a typical gambler will bet using “units.” If one unit is $100, that means if the Golden Knights are underdogs, the bettor wagers $100, but if they are favorites, the bettor wagers enough to win $100. For example, if VGK are -170, the bettor wagers $170 to win $100. If VGK are -340, the bet is $340 to win $100.
Using those parameters, betting on every game would have you in the hole $865 over the past five seasons.
In the Golden Knights’ 254 franchise wins, the bettor would have racked up $26,825. But, the 185 losses, most of which the Golden Knights were favored, the same bettor would have dropped $27,690.
Here are a bunch of cool notes from the history of betting on the Golden Knights using William Hill odds.
I think they are going to do their best to run back as close to the same roster as possible. Obviously cap constraints will get in the way. The plan is likely more to minimize damage than anything else (even if it costs a bit to do so). https://t.co/T0QdI5PuEe
Let's go with Paul Stastny. I think he'd be fine with leaving Winnipeg and it wouldn't shock me if he was willing to take a cheap deal to come back here. https://t.co/sDHhj3AGa2
1) Haula's OT winner 2) Nosek goal in 1st home game 3) Neal's game-winner in Dallas (1st game ever) 4) Karlsson OT goal in San Jose 5) This is a weird one, but there was just something about that preseason game in VAN (1st ever). So I'll say Tyler Wong's 3rd goal in that game. https://t.co/t4h5zGZhze
Sine 2017, the NHL Players’ Association releases a poll of hockey and non-hockey related questions answered by around 500 players. Vegas players have been mentioned in categories such as “best goalie,” “best trash talker,” “best golfer,” and “toughest player.” The team has also garnered attention for “best jersey,” “best ice,” and “best arena” in the past.
In 2020, Golden Knights players or the team were mentioned in the poll seven times. Last year they hit the board just once with Marc-Andre Fleury.
This year, there are three mentions of the Golden Knights and/or the city of Las Vegas.
Maybe the Vegas Flu still does exist as 158 different players voted for Las Vegas as the best city to spend an off day. (The other 358 are wrong.)
T-Mobile continues to impress with ice conditions being listed each time the question has been offered to the players. Back in 2019, however, T-Mobile received the most votes getting 42.5%, this year it dipped to just 5.8%.
And then there’s the lettuce. Karlsson in 2nd, two former Golden Knights also on the board. Gotta love it.
Here’s a link to the full poll. (There’s a “select year” dropdown on that page if you would like to see previous versions.)
Look, I even used the same picture from that article! (Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
A little more than two years ago the Golden Knights were in a similar position to where they are right now in the standings. 52 games into the schedule that year we published a story with the same title as this one.
We included polls from social media, gambling odds, computer projections, and statistical probabilities to paint a picture of how much brighter the outlook of the season actually was than how it felt at that moment.
This year, we’re going back to the exact same sources, but this time, the picture it paints is actually pretty grim.
We’ll start with the fans.
Currently on a four-game slide and riding a 4-9-1 record since February 9th, Golden Knights fans are unsurprisingly a bit down on their team. We asked the simplest of questions, and more than half of the fan base took the pessimistic option.
Do you believe the Golden Knights will make the playoffs?
It would depend on how close they get. If they get to the Final a few times, they aren't going anywhere. If they miss the playoffs or get bounced in the first round, it'll get hot quick.
I don't think Foley is stuck on the 6 year thing and that is the only criterea. https://t.co/8VQzjI0LHA
Yes, I think they will. I expect them to go down the Nick Cousin-esque route again. (Someone who would be in the lineup, but not a huge name.) Chris Tierney is a name that keeps sticking out in my mind when I go through the trade bait lists. https://t.co/IvbisqIQkH
For me it's always going to be the production he gives in the postseason this year. I don't care if you score against the Sharks or Coyotes, I care what happens when the games truly matter and this team needs a goal. Also, will he hold up defensively in this system? https://t.co/KEeynsLc4u
So far, it hasn't been great (I'm not even enthralled with how it's gone in the first two rounds either). They've possibly been able to find a few NHL-level players, but there doesn't seem to be a truly impactful guy in the bunch. It's concerning considering the age of the roster https://t.co/n5PIC1BlOT
At the moment, not much at all. Win fewer than 12 playoff games and it will start to heat up a bit. Expectations are VERY high. https://t.co/qZzfXxfI0I
Though he’s no longer with the Golden Knights, Marc-Andre Fleury will forever be a massive part of Vegas hockey. Last night he won his 500th game in the NHL, a feat just two other goalies in NHL history have ever achieved.
117 of those wins came wearing a Golden Knights jersey and there’s no better day than today to relive the best of them. Here are my five favorites of the 500 wins in Marc-Andre’s illustrious career.
**Remember, playoff wins do not count in the 500, so we are sticking to just the regular season.**
February 22nd, 2021 – at Colorado
The Golden Knights were coming off an embarrassing loss at Lake Tahoe and were in danger of dropping their third game out of four to the Avs. But Fleury would have none of that. The Avalanche peppered the VGK goal early and often and Fleury kept them out time and time again. He ended up with a 34 save shutout and it was the moment he truly began his campaign for Vezina.
November 19th, 2019 – vs Toronto
This game is really all about one single moment. The diving save. Of course, Fleury was tremendous in the game as a whole, stopping 31 of 33 shots and leading the Golden Knights to a 4-2 victory, but his save on Nic Petan will forever live in VGK lore. Of all the iconic moments Fleury had while in Vegas, this is the one that will always be atop the list. Heck, they made statues of it and gave them away to fans.
Tonight, we have a rare occurance at T-Mobile Arena. It’s just the 9th time it will have ever happened, the first time since May 10th, and just the third time since the inaugural season.
The Golden Knights are underdogs at home at the William Hill Sports Book. Taking on the NHL leader in points percentage, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Golden Knights will be without Jack Eichel, Max Pacioretty, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, William Carrier, Nolan Patrick, Alec Martinez, and Zach Whitecloud (and maybe Mattias Janmark).
The last time Vegas were a home dog was the infamous 15 skater game which decided the 2020-21 Presidents’ Trophy. On that night, the Golden Knights were without five staters, but due to the salary cap were unable to replace players. This time around, VGK have replacements, but they are names like Jonas Rondbjerg, Paul Cotter, Michael Amadio, and Jake Leschyshyn.
Vegas played Colorado tough on May 10th, 2021, but eventually conceded late to take their very first loss in franchise history as a home underdog.
Prior to that game, the Golden Knights had been home underdogs eight times and were undefeated in them.
The most recent win as a home dog was on February 20th, 2020 when the Golden Knights were +100 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Vegas won that one 5-3 in a thriller. Alec Martinez scored a goal and added an assist in his VGK debut, Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty both scored, and the Golden Knights put a halt to Tampa Bay’s 11-game win streak.
Before that one, the Golden Knights had gone 793 days between games as home underdogs. They were favored in 109 consecutive home games.
However, both the Tampa Bay game and the Colorado game, Vegas came in as the slightest of favorites, just +100. Tonight, they are +130 against Carolina.
This is the first time since October 24th, 2017 that the Golden Knights have been greater than +120 underdogs at T-Mobile Arena. That is 1,488 days ago and 149 games ago!
VGK were installed as underdogs in five of their first seven home games and then added a two more as the season progressed.
If you’ve have bet $100 on the Golden Knights every time they were underdogs, you’d be up a solid $865. But, had you rolled the bets over, going all in every time, you’d have made $27,117. If you then bet that the next time they were underdogs (against TBL on 2/20/20), you’d be up to $54,434.
Then, of course, you’d have lost it all when they lost to Colorado.
Nonetheless, tonight is quite the rarity with the Golden Knights not just underdogs, but fairly significant underdogs, the third largest they’ve ever been at T-Mobile Arena.
**William Hill is the official betting sponsor of SinBin.vegas.**
There’s nothing more exciting than Opening Night. It’s a new season with new players, new rivals, and new objectives. As we prepare for tonight’s matchup against the 32nd franchise let’s have a little fun.
2021-22 Golden Knights Opening Night Trivia: Who Am I?
Surprise, I have the most opening night points in franchise history with 4 (2 Goals, 2 Assists). Who am I?
Click for answer
Mark Stone
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to suit up and join the boys tonight but I’ll be cheering loudly. Not sure if you remember, but last season I scored the franchise’s only opening night empty net goal. Who am I?
Thursday’s preseason game was so miserable to watch a fellow writer and I started trying to come up with all of the players that have given the Golden Knights fits over the first four seasons. This idea was born out of the fact that VGK were making Nick Schmaltz look like an offense driving machine for a few shifts in a row and we thought, he’d fit right in with some of the names that kill the Golden Knights.
Of course, Schmaltz’s run of dominance didn’t last long (if it even lasted at all, he just popped for a shift or two and that was enough to catch my attention during that dreadful game), but players just like him have had success against the Golden Knights in meaningful games.
This team is built of players that have actually had an impact on helping their team beat the Golden Knights. Unlike players like Evander Kane, Tom Wilson, and Antoine Roussel who are just annoying and usually hurt their team.
Without further ado, here’s the All VGK Killer Team from the first four years of the Golden Knights’ existence.
1st Line Kyle Connor-Anze Kopitar-David Perron
This is a legit 1st line, centered by the man who has more points against the Golden Knights than anyone else, Anze Kopitar. His 21 points in 21 games are five better than any other player in the league and he’s added a couple more in the playoffs. Connor has also thrashed the Golden Knights on the scoresheet, posting eight goals and five assists for 13 points in just eight games. Like Kopitar, he’s also scored a goal and an assist on VGK in the playoffs. Then, there’s the one and only David Perron. It seems like it’s a life goal to ruin the night of every Vegas fan every time he’s at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights have shut him down from time to time, but this list wouldn’t be complete without him.
