from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

San Jose vs. Vegas is reason enough to be at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night. The two teams have combined to win 11 games in a row, chasing the similarly scorching Calgary Flames in the Pacific Division.

But something else is going on. As the game begins, a few of us are looking at an iPad. On-screen is a prototype created for the NHL by BetGenius, which supplies casinos, sportsbooks, and leagues with live data for gambling purposes.

Just 1:34 in, Sharks goalie Martin Jones kicks a Ryan Reaves shot right to Tomas Nosek. Suddenly, it’s 1-0 Golden Knights and the arena is a madhouse.

The odds on the iPad disappear for a moment. When they return, they have changed to reflect the score. Didn’t like what you saw 94 seconds ago? Check again, because it is a whole new world.

Chris Dougan, Genius Sports’ Group communications director, smiles at my reaction.

“The data is the oil,” he says. “The algorithm is the engine.”

continued