NHL predictions: Devils vs. Golden Knights pick, odds, Mar. 3

The New Jersey Devils are on a nice little run. They’re playing great hockey, they landed Timo Meier in a trade and they have a chance to jump the Carolina Hurricanes and take over first place in the Metropolitan Division with a win in Vegas on Friday.

But things are also going well for the Vegas Golden Knights lately.

The Knights are 7-1-2 in their last 10 and made a couple of additions to their roster with the trades for Ivan Barbashev, Teddy Blueger and Jonathan Quick.

Devils vs. Golden Knights prediction

(10 p.m. ET)

There was a point in January when the Devils were not playing great hockey but were still winning.

New Jersey went 10-1-1 from Jan. 7 to Feb. 9, but six of the wins came after regulation.

It felt like a wobble was waiting for the Devils if their goaltending came back down to earth.

The wobble never came, though, as the Devils have improved their 5-on-5 drastically.

Over its last 10 contests, New Jersey has outscored opponent, 27-21, at 5-on-5 and have a +7.3 expected goal difference. 

New Jersey’s defensive form has been sparkling in that span, as the Devils rank seventh in expected goals allowed and sixth in high-danger scoring chances in their last 10 games. 

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It’s a similar story for the Golden Knights.

When Bruce Cassidy took over behind the bench in Sin City we knew that Vegas would improve in its own zone, but lately it’s been best-in-class stuff.

The Knights have surrendered just 15 goals at 5-on-5 in their last 10 games and rank third in expected goals against and second in high-danger scoring chances conceded during that timeframe. 

The goaltending for both of these teams is a bit all over the place, but it kind of just comes back to the same place.

Vitek Vanecek has been solid for New Jersey for most of the season, but he was pulled in his last outing and Akira Schmid looked strong in relief.

Vegas is without its starter, Logan Thompson, and is carrying three veteran goaltenders now that Quick has joined the club.

Adin Hill has been slightly above average in 25 games for the Knights, while Laurent Brossoit was hurt for most of the season but has looked in good form in his three games since returning.

All of this is to say, it really doesn’t matter who gets the nod here, especially with both teams playing so well in their own end.

The Devils can score in a hurry and are coming off a back-and-forth thriller against the Colorado Avalanche, so going to the under may not seem like the most appealing bet, but the defenses should be the story for this one.