The stage is set for this season's NHL Stanley Cup Finals with storylines all over the board. Game 1 of this best-of-seven clash between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights is set for Monday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Game time is 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Washington earned the reputation of being an 'easy out' in the postseason after failing to get past the second round nine times in the past 10 seasons. In 2014, the Capitals did not even qualify of the playoffs. The Golden Knights' playoff experience is limited to the three series they just played as an expansion team.
Another big storyline is each team's goalie. Washington's Braden Holtby comes into the NHL Finals red-hot after pitching a pair of shutouts to help his team closeout Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games. Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury came to the team via an expansion draft after being cast aside by the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The veteran netminder has delivered in this postseason with a stellar goals-against average of 1.68.
When it comes to betting on this series, BetAnySports has opened Vegas as a -138 favorite on the series price odds with the moneyline on Washington set at +118 to win the 2018 Stanley Cup title. The betting odds for Monday's Game 1 also favors Vegas at -140. The Capitals come in as +120 road underdogs with the total set at 5.5 goals.
As part of my NHL coverage for ScoresandStats.com, my complete series preview and official betting pick can be found at the link below.
LINK: NHL Stanley Cup Finals Free Betting Pick
No comments:
Post a Comment