Vegas Golden Knights vs Pittsburgh Penguins 18 October 2026 Prediction

Vegas hosts Pittsburgh in an interconference matchup. The Penguins started the season well offensively, but their results have declined. The Golden Knights have been one of the Western Conference’s strongest teams. Pittsburgh will look to avenge its March loss to Vegas.

Vegas Has Won Seven of Nine

Vegas won seven of its first nine games and sits atop the Western Conference standings. The Golden Knights beat Calgary 6-2 at home in their last game. Mark Stone scored a hat trick in a 15-minute span of the third period.

Vegas scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded. Its power play ranks in the NHL’s top 10, converting roughly one in four opportunities. The Golden Knights also rank fourth in expected goals, averaging 3.54 per game.

Vegas Golden Knights Predicted Lineup: Hart (Hill) — McNabb, Theodore — Barbashev, Eichel, Stone

Full Roster: Defensemen — Andersson, Lauzon, Hanifin, Coghlan; forwards — Howden, Karlsson, Marner, Connelly, Hertl, Lavoie, Bowman, Dowd, Gatcomb

Unavailable: Olofsson, Wotherspoon (both injured)

Manager: Ryan Craig

Pittsburgh Has Lost Four of Five

After a strong start, Pittsburgh has lost four of its last five games. The Penguins fell 5-3 at Chicago despite two goals from Sidney Crosby. They outshot the Blackhawks 27-20, but Chicago scored on five of its 20 shots on goal.

Dan Muse’s team has seven points through seven games and is outside the Eastern Conference playoff spots. Pittsburgh averages a league-low 11.9 hits per game. Its power play ranks 21st, converting 16.7% of its opportunities.

Pittsburgh Penguins Predicted Lineup: Silovs (Murashov) — Carlisle, Karlsson — Rakell, Crosby, Rust

Full Roster: Defensemen — Girard, Korczak, Stastny, Letang; forwards — Chinakhov, Novak, Malkin, Kuzmenko, Kindel, Robertson, Dewar, Lizotte, Soderblom

Unavailable: Brazeau, Graves, van Riemsdyk (all injured)

Manager: Dan Muse

Home Teams Have Won the Last Nine Meetings

The home team has won each of the last nine meetings, with only one game going to overtime. Last season, Pittsburgh won 5-0 at home before Vegas won the rematch 6-2. Pavel Dorofeyev, who has since left the Golden Knights, scored twice in that game.

Key Stats

Vegas has not lost the second period in any of its last seven games.

Pittsburgh generates 3.47 expected goals per game, fifth-most in the NHL.

Vegas averages 30.4 shots on goal per game, ranking among the league’s top five.

Vegas Golden Knights vs Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction: Vegas Golden Knights to Win at 1.76

Main pick: Pittsburgh has not won in Vegas since January 2022, losing four visits in that span. The Penguins have also lost four of their last five games. Vegas leads the Western Conference and has won its last three home games. The pick is Vegas Golden Knights to win at 1.76. A 4-2 Vegas win is a possible exact-score pick.

Total goals pick: More than five goals were scored in just one of the teams’ last six meetings. Pittsburgh’s last five games have averaged 5.4 regulation goals, while four of Vegas’s last five have finished with no more than six goals in regulation. The pick is under 6.5 goals at 1.73.