Minnesota at Vegas

Minnesota is a team worthy of respect, especially now, having ace defenseman Quinn Hughes to go with excellent goaltending. But if the Golden Knights perform the way they did against Colorado this past Saturday, they likely will win this home game by multiple goals. Despite not having Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore, the Golden Knights nearly upset the Avalanche. They lost, 6-5, in a shootout after leading by two goals entering the third period. Eichel is day-to-day recovering from illness. Theodore remains out. But Las Vegas displayed excellent depth against the league's top team. It was an encouraging sign given that the Golden Knights were 1-3 in their last four games entering Christmas break. The Wild edged the Jets, 4-3, in overtime on the road two days ago in their first game out of Christmas break. Minnesota had lost its previous two games, 3-2 in overtime to the Predators as a $1.71 home favorite and 5-1 to Colorado as a $1.51 home underdog. Take the Golden Knights on the puckline.