PREMIUM
Stephen Nover's Stanley Cup Game of the Year
(NHL) Vegas vs. Montreal,
Money Line: -138.00 Vegas (Away)
Result: Loss
Money Line: -138.00 Vegas (Away)
Result: Loss
As strange as it sounds, maybe beating the Canadiens, 4-1, in the first game of this series after overcoming the Avalanche in a tough series was the worst thing that could have happened to the Golden Knights.
Since that decisive opening game victory, the Golden Knights have lost three of four to Montreal. Now the Golden Knights are on the verge of elimination down 3-2 in the series.
How will they respond? Certainly the letdown factor has long since disappeared. Las Vegas is the superior team. But that doesn't mean that much now as the Canadiens' confidence is sky-high, Carey Price has stayed hot in net and Montreal is on house money.
Those make for a dangerous combination. Yet I see Las Vegas winning this game and the price finally has come down enough to back the Golden Knights.
Las Vegas has overcome adversity. The Golden Knights trailed in their series against the Wild and Avalanche before coming back to eliminate those teams. The Golden Knights are off a 4-1 loss from two days ago. They are 9-1 the past 10 times following a loss of three goals or more. Las Vegas has done the job as a road favorite winning 20 of the past 27 times in that role.
Key center Chandler Stephenson is back in the lineup for Las Vegas. That gives the Golden Knights' four solid lines. So they own a depth edge, which increases in importance as the series grows longer.
The Golden Knights ranked first defensively in the NHL and were third in scoring at 3.39 goals per game. However, they've managed just seven goals during their past four games. Price has a 2.01 goals above average when facing an average shot distance of 39.82 feet, a metric courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com. Price has played well this entire postseason, but he's far from the best goalie in the league like he was a few years ago.
The top six forwards on the Golden Knights have combined for only one goal in the series. Las Vegas is a much better scoring team than that. The Golden Knights are way overdue. They've also had plenty of time to see and adjust now to Montreal's 1-1-3 neutral zone blockage style of play.
So I see Las Vegas making the proper adjustments - both on the ice and in their heads - while their overdue scorers finally break out with the season on the brink.
Since that decisive opening game victory, the Golden Knights have lost three of four to Montreal. Now the Golden Knights are on the verge of elimination down 3-2 in the series.
How will they respond? Certainly the letdown factor has long since disappeared. Las Vegas is the superior team. But that doesn't mean that much now as the Canadiens' confidence is sky-high, Carey Price has stayed hot in net and Montreal is on house money.
Those make for a dangerous combination. Yet I see Las Vegas winning this game and the price finally has come down enough to back the Golden Knights.
Las Vegas has overcome adversity. The Golden Knights trailed in their series against the Wild and Avalanche before coming back to eliminate those teams. The Golden Knights are off a 4-1 loss from two days ago. They are 9-1 the past 10 times following a loss of three goals or more. Las Vegas has done the job as a road favorite winning 20 of the past 27 times in that role.
Key center Chandler Stephenson is back in the lineup for Las Vegas. That gives the Golden Knights' four solid lines. So they own a depth edge, which increases in importance as the series grows longer.
The Golden Knights ranked first defensively in the NHL and were third in scoring at 3.39 goals per game. However, they've managed just seven goals during their past four games. Price has a 2.01 goals above average when facing an average shot distance of 39.82 feet, a metric courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com. Price has played well this entire postseason, but he's far from the best goalie in the league like he was a few years ago.
The top six forwards on the Golden Knights have combined for only one goal in the series. Las Vegas is a much better scoring team than that. The Golden Knights are way overdue. They've also had plenty of time to see and adjust now to Montreal's 1-1-3 neutral zone blockage style of play.
So I see Las Vegas making the proper adjustments - both on the ice and in their heads - while their overdue scorers finally break out with the season on the brink.
