Golden Knights vs Sharks Prediction, Odds, Trends & Starting Goalies (Thursday, Oct. 9)

• The Golden Knights are heavily favored over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night
• Vegas dominates this rivalry with a 14-0-3 all-time record in San Jose
• See the Golden Knights vs Sharks prediction, odds, trends and starting goalies below

The Vegas Golden Knights (0-0-1) hit the road for their second game in as many nights, visiting Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks (0-0-0) on Thursday. Vegas is coming off a wild 6-5 shootout loss to LA just hours ago, but they’re still heavy favorites according to online sportsbooks.

Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 pm ET at the SAP Center in San Jose, with ESPN+ carrying the broadcast.

Golden Knights vs Sharks Prediction

• Vegas Golden Knights -1.5 (+118 at Caesars)

CAESARS SPORTSBOOK

Bet $1 & Double Your Winnings On Your First 20 Wagers!

LOCK IN PROMO

CODE: SBD20X

CODE: SBD20X

SIGNUP PROMO

DOUBLE YOUR
WINNINGS

ON YOUR FIRST 20 WAGERS!

CLAIM OFFER

Look, I get the concern about Vegas playing on no rest. They just finished a shootout loss to the Kings and now have to travel to San Jose. But here’s the thing – this matchup is about as lopsided as it gets in the NHL.

The Sharks have never beaten Vegas in regulation at home. Never. They’re 0-14-3 in those games and 2-27-5 all-time against the Golden Knights. That’s not just bad luck – it’s complete domination. And while San Jose has young talent in Celebrini and Will Smith, they’re still rebuilding after finishing dead last with 52 points last season.

What really sold me on the puck line was watching Vegas last night. Sure, they lost, but Pavel Dorofeyev scored a hat trick and Jack Eichel put up four points. The offense is clicking early with new addition Mitch Marner already showing chemistry on the top line. Even in a loss, they scored five goals.

Meanwhile, the Sharks went 12-27-2 at home last season. New coach Ryan Warsofsky keeps talking about being “relentless” and learning “how not to lose before you learn how to win.” That doesn’t exactly scream confidence to me.

At +118 odds, I’m taking Vegas to win by two or more. The talent gap is massive, and even on tired legs, the Golden Knights should handle a Sharks team that’s still figuring things out. This feels like a 5-2 or 4-1 type of game where Vegas pulls away in the third.

Vegas Golden Knights vs San Jose Sharks Odds

The Golden Knights opened around -180 and have been bet up to -220, with roughly 70% of the handle backing the defending Pacific Division champions. The Golden Knights’ implied win probability according to the Thursday NHL odds is

The total sits at 6.5, with -115 juice on the under given the back-to-back situation for Vegas. For “Over” bettors predicting another high-scoring Vegas game, BetRivers is offering Over 6 at -121 odds, the best line available.

Golden Knights vs Sharks Trends

The trends in this matchup are about as one-sided as you’ll find. Vegas has outscored San Jose 26-12 over their last five meetings and has won seven straight against them. The Golden Knights have never lost a regulation game in San Jose – that 14-0-3 road record is almost unheard of in professional sports.

Vegas comes in after a tough loss where they blew a 5-3 third-period lead. But there were positives: the power play looked sharp (2/6), Dorofeyev appears to be a breakout candidate, and the Eichel-Marner connection already looks dangerous. VGK put up five goals despite playing poorly defensively.

San Jose enters their season opener with plenty of question marks. They don’t even have a captain named yet. The roster features eight players making their Sharks debut, including Jeff Skinner and Ryan Reaves. That’s a lot of new faces trying to mesh on opening night against a team that knows exactly how to beat them.

One interesting wrinkle is that Vegas has played well in back-to-backs recently. Last season, they went 11-5 in the second game of back-to-backs, often playing better with simplified game plans and fewer overthinking.

Golden Knights vs Sharks Starting Goalies

The goaltending matchup heavily favors Vegas, even if they go with their backup. Akira Schmid is expected to start for the Golden Knights after Adin Hill played Wednesday. Meanwhile, Alex Nedeljkovic gets the nod for San Jose with top prospect Yaroslav Askarov not ready for opening night.

Nedeljkovic struggled mightily with Pittsburgh last season, posting a 14-15-5 record with a brutal 3.12 GAA and .894 save percentage. Those numbers ranked him 43rd in save percentage among regular starters. He was essentially given away to San Jose in the offseason and projects as the backup once Askarov is ready.

Akira Schmid vs Alex Nedeljkovic 2024-25 Stats

Schmid hasn’t proven himself at the NHL level, but he did impress with a .944 save percentage in limited action last year. Hill is the big-name VGK starter with a large contract, but the 2023 Cup champ has been struggling, and Vegas may be looking at other options, such as Carter Hart.

The bottom line is that Vegas’ goaltending tonight can’t be worse than what Nedeljkovic showed last year. The Sharks allowed 310 goals last season (32nd in the league), and their goaltending was a huge reason why. Starting Nedeljkovic on opening night feels like waving the white flag.

This is a mismatch on paper that should play out on the ice. Vegas has too much firepower, too much confidence in this building, and faces a goalie who couldn’t stop beach balls last season. Take the Golden Knights on the puck line while you still get plus money.

BET365
SPORTSBOOK

Offer

T&Cs

Bet $5 & Get $200 in Bonus Bets Win or Lose or a First Bet Safety Net Up to $1,000!

Deposit required. Paid in Bonus Bets. Bonus Bets wager excluded from returns. New Customers only. T&Cs, time limits and exclusions apply

LOCK IN PROMO

CODE: DIME365

CODE: DIME365

SIGNUP PROMO

BET $5
GET $200

WIN OR LOSE!

CLAIM OFFER