Devils vs Golden Knights Prediction, Odds and Best Bet for October 30

The Devils are asking Connor Hellebuyck to steady a team that just watched a four-game winning streak end, and Vegas is waiting at home with one of the league’s most productive offenses.

Quick take:

• Pick: Vegas Golden Knights moneyline
• Why: Home ice, a deeper group of scorers, and a Devils team closing out a three-game road trip with a new goalie still settling in.
• The number to watch: Vegas is 6-2-0 at T-Mobile Arena

New Jersey closes out a three-game Western swing at 8-5-0, while Vegas sits at 9-4-1 and second in the Pacific Division. Puck drop is 6:00 PM ET at T-Mobile Arena.

The Devils split the first two stops of the trip. They beat Dallas 5-1 on Tuesday in Hellebuyck’s debut, three days after he arrived from Winnipeg in an October 23 trade, then lost 5-2 at Colorado the next night in the second game of a back-to-back, getting outshot 46-22. Vegas has had its own wobble, dropping three straight (6-2 to Tampa Bay, 6-2 to St. Louis, and 2-1 in overtime to Columbus) before beating Ottawa 4-1 on Tuesday to steady things.

A Coin-Flip Line in the Desert

The market has this one close to a pick’em, with Vegas around -117 and New Jersey around -105 on the moneyline and a total of 6.5 goals. That makes sense on paper: the Devils have the bigger goaltending headline, but the Golden Knights have the better recent home form and more firepower across the lineup. One popular projection model gives Vegas about a 55 percent chance of winning, a touch higher than the roughly 51 percent the moneyline implies, and it leans slightly toward the under. If you want to shop numbers before you bet, the live NHL odds page is a quick way to compare prices.

Recent Form

Both teams arrive with real swings in their last handful of games, so the form and head-to-head data below is worth a look before you lock anything in.

Showing 10 of last 10 meetings

Eichel’s Line Against the Hellebuyck Question

Jack Eichel is the engine for Vegas, with 7 goals and 13 assists for 20 points through 14 games. Mark Stone has 8 goals and 16 points, and he leads the goal-scoring projections for this game. Trevor Connelly, the 20-year-old forward, has chipped in 4 goals and 5 assists, Mitch Marner has 11 assists, and Tomas Hertl has five goals. That kind of scoring spread is why Vegas is averaging roughly 3.6 goals per game.

Vegas is 6-2-0 at home, and the Devils are finishing a road trip with a goalie who has exactly one start in a New Jersey sweater.

Hellebuyck stopped 17 of 18 shots in that debut win over Dallas and is expected back in net on Friday. He is a massive upgrade, but he is still learning the team in front of him, and the Devils surrendered 46 shots in Colorado.

New Jersey has plenty of offense of its own. The projected lineup has Jack Hughes between Arseny Gritsyuk and Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier centering Timo Meier and Luke Evangelista, and Anthony Mantha on the third line. Luke Hughes had a goal and an assist against Dallas, and the blue line is deep with Brett Pesce, Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler. Connor Brown also scored twice in the loss to Colorado, one of them shorthanded.

Vegas has its own question marks in goal. Carter Hart did not play against Ottawa and appears on the team’s injury list, so Adin Hill, 5-1-0 with a 2.63 goals-against average, looks like the likelier starter. Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon is on injured reserve, and forward Victor Olofsson is on long-term injured reserve, so the Golden Knights are not at full strength either.

The Devils also own a strong run of results beyond that Colorado game. Before it, they had beaten Dallas, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Colorado in succession, so this is not a team that folds on the road. That is exactly why the price is so tight, and why a betting calculator is handy if you are sizing a stake, because the edge on Vegas is modest rather than massive.

Special teams could also matter. New Jersey went 0-for-3 on the power play at Colorado and 0-for-3 against Dallas, so the Devils will need to find some life with the man advantage if they want to keep pace with Vegas on its own ice.

Prediction and Best Bet

Vegas gets the nod. The Golden Knights have the stronger home record, the deeper group of scorers, and the benefit of sleeping in their own beds, while the Devils are wrapping up a taxing trip with a new goalie still finding his footing. Hellebuyck can absolutely steal a game, and the under on 6.5 is tempting because of it, but the home side’s depth should be the difference in a one-goal game.

The pick:

1. Prediction: Golden Knights 3, Devils 2
2. Best Bet: Golden Knights on the moneyline

The price is close to even, the home team is the better bet, and one goal is probably all that separates them.