After coming within two victories of their second Stanley Cup championship last season, expectations for the Las Vegas Golden Knights remain predictably high, as the team prepares to open their tenth National Hockey League (NHL) season Tuesday night (Sept. 29) against the Chicago Blackhawks at T-Mobile Arena.

Sportsbooks in Las Vegas expect the Golden Knights to remain among the NHL’s heavyweights.

At Caesars Sportsbook, the Golden Knights are +400 to finish with the most regular-season points in the Western Conference, second to the Colorado Avalanche at +270.

Caesars has the Golden Knights at +1000 to win the Stanley Cup, after the Avalanche (+600), Florida Panthers (+650) and Carolina Hurricanes (+800). Las Vegas is -600 to make the playoffs.

Ryan Craig takes over as head coach, while Vegas must replace Pavel Dorofeyev, the team’s leading goal scorer last season, with 37, and a major cog on the power-play. 

Carter Hart enters the season atop the goaltending picture, while the Golden Knights will once again lean heavily on a veteran core led by Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore.

Jeff Davis, director of risk at Circa Sports , said the sportsbook currently has a small liability on the Golden Knights.

“It is important to note that at this time of the season, the amount of money that has been written into the pool is very small relative to how much will be written by the time the Stanley Cup Final arrives,” he said.