Written by Graeme & Scott on Sunday, September 6th, 2020
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The Philadelphia Flyers couldn’t capitalize on their impressive last couple of games, as the New York Islanders shut them out 4-0.
As Graeme mentioned yesterday – if you looked at the metrics going into that game, that was likely going to be the case. However it was very disappointing that the Flyers couldn’t make a game of it and add some excitement at least.
Islanders took the lead early and deservedly won to progress to the finals.
They will now play the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The betting odds for the cup show the Vegas Golden Knights as slight favourites. Here are current betting odds:
- Las Vegas Golden Knights: 2.50
- Tampa Bay Lightning: 2.65
- New York Islanders: 6.00
- Dallas Stars: 7.00
The Stars and Knights square off today with the Islanders and Lightning tomorrow.
Stars vs Knights Game 1 Betting Tips:
November 25th: Stars 4-2 Knights
December 13th: Stars 2-3 Knights (OT)
Graeme: Both teams were able to skip the qualifying round. The Stars are the #3 seed and the Knights #1. The Knights got here by beating the #8 Blackhawks and #5 Canucks while the Stars beat the #6 Flames and #2 Avalanche.
What’s really impressive is the way the Stars have went about it. Prior to the playoffs beginning we all excited tight defensive play and wins by the Stars. However they’ve instead won the majority of their games by outscoring their opposition. It’s been truly incredible to see, and that 5-4 victory over the Avs was very impressive.
It’s likely they will have to do the same against the Knights. Sportsbooks think there is a good chance of it with the over/under set at 6.
Lehner will be a tougher goalie for the Stars to beat so that will make things interesting. Knights were really strugglign with variance/luck when it came to getting goals yet were still able to do it which was impressive. I’m really curious to see how their offense does against him.
Ryan Reaves is out for this game. In 15 games he has contributed 4 assists and a +/- or 2.
I think I’m good going with the Knights right now. Personally I think the odds are a bit crap considering it’s the conference finals, and what the Stars have did so far. Stars winning is probably the best bet for value. However until the Stars are able to prove that they can beat Lehner consistently – a big step up from previous goalies – I think I’ll go with the Knights. I do hope the Stars offense make this competitive though. However I think the Knights will feel better after getting past Demko.
Knights in Regulation if Lehner in net
Scott: Well the Knights are the favorites for game one. They beat the Hawks in 5 games and the Canucks in 7 games to reach the Western Conference Finals. The Stars beat the Flames in 6 games and the Avalanche in 7 games to get here.
The Stars have surprised me with both of their series wins. I thought the Flames would have won that series, I was wrong. I thought the Avalanche would have easily won that series and again I was wrong. They are a team who is getting scoring depth from lines other than their top one.
The Knights are a deep team at every position. They get production from all 4 lines and have 2 goalies who could be starters on almost any team.
With this being game one it’s hard to predict an outcome. I’m again going to bet against the Stars as Vegas is stacked and have all of the pieces needed to make a run here. But the Stars are a team you cant count out as I have learned through the first two rounds. But I think Vegas wins this series so I’ll take them here.
Knights in regulation
Canada: 1.95 Odds at Sports Interaction (SIA) + free $20 bet.
USA: -120 Odds at Bovada.
Everyone Else: 1.89 Odds at 888 Sports.
(Odds correct as of 2020/09/06 9:59:39 AM EST but are subject to change.)
