Without a doubt, the biggest surprise to come out of last year’s online hockey betting season had to be the Vegas Golden Knights. No one could have predicted the success Vegas enjoyed and no one could have predicted that they would’ve made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. And while they didn’t get to hoist the cup, they still accomplished the unthinkable. But how did the Golden Knights manage to jump onto the scene and accomplish what storied franchises failed to do? Today we aim to answer that question by taking a sportsbook look at key Golden Knights statistics that lead to their eye-raising online betting success.
Key Golden Knights Statistics that Lead to Their Breakout
Individual Milestones
Teams are made up of individual players. And when 12 of your players set new single-season career highs in points, then you’re bound to enjoy some success. That’s exactly what happened to Vegas last season as a ton of their players accomplished just that. Center William Karlsson had the biggest jump out of the lot, exceeding a 25 point single season record with a 78 point one. In fact, Karlsson’s 53 point improvement ranks amongst the greatest in NHL history.
The reason Karlsson was able to make that jump is simple: a massive jump in shooting percentage. In previous seasons, Karlsson had delivered a modest 7.9 shooting percentage in the AHL and 7.7 percent in the NHL. Last season he was able to bring that number up to 23.4% – which lead the entire league.
Miller Lite
Scoring goals is great and all but if you’re unable to stop your opponents from scoring, you won’t be winning too many games. Last season Vegas shone on defense thanks to the efforts of Colin Miller, who was their leading defenseman. Since joining the NHL in 2015-16, teams with Miller on them, the Bruins and Knights, have outshot their opponents 2,712-2,114 in 5-vs.-5 attempts when he’s on the ice. But Miller wasn’t just great on defense, he also made some large contributions on offense.
In fact, Miller finished the season with 41 points off of 10 goals and a whopping 31 assists. Overall this ranked him as the second best defensemen in the NHL. That, coupled with his defensive contributions, allowed the Golden Knights to shut out their opponents, raise their shots on goal and ultimately make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Fleury’s Fury
Vegas’ stout defense was largely helped out by Millers’ efforts. However, they were built on the foundation that is goaltender Mar-Andre Fleury. Last season Fleury delivered a career best .927 save percentage. In the NHL, this ranked 6th best amongst the 56 goalies who played a minimum of 20 games. Considering that Fleury finished the previous season with a .909 save percentage, and it’s pretty clear Vegas was fortunate to have him make such a considerable jump. If Vegas is able to maintain these key Golden Knights statistics, then they should have no problem finding success this upcoming cell phone betting season.
