Ladies and gentleman, sit back and relax on Monday night for a NHL showdown between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Calgary Flames. Let's check out our NHL odds series where our Golden Knights-Flames prediction and pick will be unveiled.

Although they've come down to earth ever so slightly after their red-hot start to the season, the Golden Knights are still a formidable force and are the defending Stanley Cup champions for a reason. Most recently, Vegas has happened to lose three of four including getting shutout in front of their home fans by a score of 2-0 against the Arizona Coyotes.

Overall, the Golden Knights are 14-5-2 all together and currently possess the most points in the entire Pacific Division.

For the time being, something just isn't clicking for the Flames to begin the 2023-2024 regular season. At the moment, Calgary are an underwhelming 8-10-3 and are fresh off a loss to the Colorado Avalanche in 3-1 fashion. With a 5-3-2 mark in their last ten games combined, can Calgary find some momentum and strike while then iron is hot starting tonight against a somewhat reeling Vegas squad?

Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NHL Odds: Golden Knights-Flames Odds

Vegas Golden Knights: -1.5 (+205)

Calgary Flames: +1.5 (-255)

Over: 6.5 (+104)

Under: 6.5 (-128)

How to Watch Golden Knights vs. Flames

Time: 9:30 ET/6:30 PT

TV: ESPN+

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Golden Knights Will Cover The Spread/Win

On paper, these are clearly two teams that are heading in opposite directions. But there is no question that Vegas can't afford to look past Calgary considering that the defending champs are in the midst of a mini-slump themselves.

For starters, the one area of this contest that Vegas needs to take control of will be in large part due to improving upon a power-play unit that is seemingly allergic in finding the back of the net as of late. After going 0-5 on their extra-man opportunities in the loss to the Coyotes, something needs to change in a big way if the Golden Knights are going to come up with some scoring chances against a lackluster Flames defense.

Despite only going 3-5-1 over their last nine meetings after starting an NHL record 11-0-1 on the season, this is a team that has suddenly found it difficult to score in general. While it was expected that the Golden Knights were going to take a slight step back to their historic fast-paced start to the regular season, it was not certain that Vegas would endure ling stretches of play with mediocre offense.

All in all, Vegas has been held to two or fewer goals in six of their past nine games and have also been shutout in  two of three outings.

Nevertheless, Vegas has nothing on Calgary's struggle in the power-play department as the Flames have gone 1-29 in such opportunities lately. If the Golden Knights can limit the amount of trips to the penalty box and keep them out of their own zone for the majority of tonight's contest, then they should make the necessary plays down the stretch in a hostile atmosphere.

Why The Flames Will Cover The Spread/Win

On the other side of things, the Flames have happened to go 6-3-2 since their early-season six-game winning streak, but there is still much work to be done if Calgary wants to get back into contention out west.

Fortunately, there is still a hefty chunk of the season to be played, and the one thing that Calgary has improved upon since struggling to find the win column has been the dynamic duo of Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane.

With the rest of the offense outside of these two names leaving much to be desired and with the Flames scoring only 2.95 goals per game, these two have accounted for a combined 10 goals and 18 assists. With these pair being the heart and soul of the Calgary offense, there is no question that Flames bettors need them to continue on their tear en route to covering the spread on this Monday.

Meanwhile, the disappointing play of goaltender Jacob Markstorm has been a cause for concern. Thus far, the Flames net minder has posted a lackluster .901 save percentage and is only 5-7 when starting in net for Calgary.

Simply put, Markstrom has to step up in a big way even against a Golden Knights offense that has hit a rut as of late. If the 33-year-old Swedish native allows some softies early and often in this one, then it will be hard to overcome the defending champs even if Calgary is at home.

Final Golden Knights-Flames Prediction & Pick

In this Pacific Division showdown, anything goes. Although Calgary may be out-manned from a talent perspective on paper, selecting the Flames as underdogs in this one may not be the worst idea in the world.

Final Golden Knights-Flames Prediction & Pick: Flames +1.5 (-255)