The Vegas Golden Knights head into Dallas to take on the Stars for what is essentially a do-or-die affair for both teams. The Knights still need a lot of luck on their side to make it into the playoffs, but the stage is set for an all-out playoff type of game tonight. For the Stars, as long as they win tonight, they clinch a playoff position. With that, it’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Golden Knights-Stars prediction and pick.
Here are the Golden Knights-Stars NHL Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Golden Knights-Stars Odds
Vegas Golden Knights: +1.5 (-275) (-110 ML)
Dallas Stars: -1.5 (+220) (-110 ML)
Over: 5.5 (-122)
Under: 5.5 (+100)
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Why The Golden Knights Can Cover The Spread/Win
The Vegas Golden Knights have been struggling with luck as they come off a shootout loss to the Sharks on Sunday, but are still technically alive for the postseason. A win tonight would be immaculate, holding the Stars from moving any further ahead and then putting themselves within reaching distance. Going 2-2-2 over their last six games has officially minimized their playoff hopes to a lucky bounce here or there, but they're almost at full health now, and could possibly find the momentum to beat the Stars and take the seeding from them by the end of the season. Starting in goal for the Knights will likely be Logan Thompson, as he is sporting a .917 save percentage while allowing 2.64 goals against per game. He'll try to bring home a win for the Knights as it truly is a do-or-die scenario tonight.
Why The Stars Can Cover The Spread/Win
The Dallas Stars collected another win on Saturday against the Kraken and are now just one win away from securing a playoff position. The Stars are lacking depth within their team, but anything is possible when they still find ways to win those close games. A loss here would put the Knights just one point behind the Stars in the standings, forcing a sprint for the finish. Looking to stop that from happening tonight is Jake Oettinger, who will likely start in this playoff atmosphere game tonight. Oettinger is averaging a .914 save percentage while allowing 2.56 goals against per game. The Stars need to treat this game like a game seven, where everything is on the line. They have a home-ice advantage tonight, but will it be enough?
Final Golden Knights-Stars Prediction & Pick
The Knights have had some bad luck lately, but it all comes down to this moment. Both of these teams are looking at this game as quite literally a must-win scenario, and the Knights, when healthy like they are, have much more depth than the Stars, who tend to rely pretty heavily on their first line. This is going to be an insane game to tune in to, and I genuinely couldn't give you a pick. Oettinger is better in net than Thompson, but the offense of the Knights is better than the Stars.
If this game was a playoff series, it would most definitely go down to overtime in a game seven matchup. For the sake of chaos around the western conference, I'm going to take the Knights here. I don't love it, but I think it would be exciting to see if they can crawl back and somehow find a miracle to make the postseason.
Final Golden Knights-Stars Prediction and Pick: Vegas Moneyline (-110)