Golden Knights vs. Avalanche Western Conference Final Series Preview
Game 1: Wednesday, May 20
Location: Ball Arena in Denver
Series Price
Colorado Avalanche (-285)
Vegas Golden Knights (+230)
How they got here …
The Avalanche swept past the Los Angeles Kings in the first round and took out the Minnesota Wild in five games in the second round. Colorado’s 8-1 playoff record is second only to the Carolina Hurricanes, who are a perfect 8-0 as they get set to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday in the Eastern Conference Final. The combined 16-1 record is the best ever by two teams entering the conference finals.
Seventeen Avs players have scored a goal, and 19 players have at least one point in this year’s playoffs. Nathan MacKinnon’s seven goals and 13 points lead the Avs in both categories. The “Big Mac Attack,” as he is known in Denver, is riding a six-game goal streak heading into the conference finals. Cale Makar is next up with four goals, but there is concern about the superstar defenseman who appeared to suffer a shoulder injury that forced him out of parts of game five against the Wild. Makar did not have a shot on goal in that game and had only one shot that was directed at the net and went wide. On one play, it looked like he had an opportunity to score a goal and instead passed the puck. He was held without a point in the final four games of the series after a three-point night (one goal, two assists) in Game 1 of the Minnesota series. I will likely target his Under shots on goal early in the series. Martin Necas leads the Avs with 10 assists. Gabriel Landeskog has some value to lead the series in goals, playing on the top line and top power play with MacKinnon.
The Vegas Golden Knights needed six games in each series to dispatch the Utah Mammoth and the Anaheim Ducks. Vegas is making its fifth trip to the Western Conference Final in nine seasons. The Golden Knights have looked like a far better team under new head coach John Tortorella. The Knights went 7-1 under Tortorella in the regular season, including a 3-2 shootout win in Denver over the Avalanche. VGK is a combined 15-5, regular season and playoffs under “Torts.” As impressive as these numbers are, their two playoff opponents finished with 92 points. The 92 points are the fewest points for a Western Conference team to make the playoffs since the 2018-19 season, when Colorado finished with 90 points before being eliminated in the second round by the San Jose Sharks.
Though 18 Golden Knights players have picked up a point in this year’s playoffs, only 12 have scored a goal, and one of those, captain Mark Stone, who was injured in Game 3 against Anaheim, has yet to practice with his teammates and remains out of the lineup. Mitch Marner is doing his best to rewrite his narrative of past playoff struggles. He leads all players in scoring with 18 points, and Jack Eichel is just three points behind Marner in playoff scoring despite having just one goal, but he has a playoff-best 14 assists. Pavel Dorofeyev leads the playoffs with nine goals and is riding a three-game goal streak (five goals) while Brett Howden, who had just 12 goals in the regular season, is second behind Dorofeyev with eight.
Series Bets
Colorado Avalanche in five games (+320) – 1 unit
Colorado Avalanche in six games (+350) – 1 unit
Vegas Golden Knights in six games (+750) – 1 unit
Pavel Dorofeyev most shots on goal (+1200) – ¼ unit
Brett Howden 2+ goals (+105) – ½ unit
Tomas Hertl 2+ goals (+140) – ½ unit
Mitch Marner 3+ goals (+190) – ½ unit
Shea Theodore more points than Cale Makar (+300) – 1 unit
Martin Necas most assists (+650) – ½ unit
Nathan MacKinnon most goals (+160) – 1 unit
Gabriel Landeskog most goals (+2200) – .10 units
Brett Howden most goals (+2000) – .10 units
Pavel Dorofeyev most goals (+500) – ¼ unit
