The Vegas Golden Knights showed early and often why they’re massive favorites to advance to the Stanley Cup Final – and they’ll look to build off their impressive Game 1 victory as they host the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night in Game 2. Vegas (49-17-4 SU, 34-34-2 O/U) cruised to a 4-1 win against a Montreal team (32-25-11 SU, 28-37-3 O/U) that had won seven straight.
- Date/Time: June 16, 9 p.m. ET
- Arena: T-Mobile Arena
- TV Coverage: NBCSN
- Sportsbook Odds: Golden Knights -222 | O/U 5 (Line History)
- Canadiens vs Golden Knights Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The early line had Vegas as a -222 favorite, but the range is now between -260 and -270 at the majority of sportsbooks. The total is set at 5, with the OVER at -135 and the UNDER at +115 virtually across the board.
Montreal News & Notes
The Canadiens had plenty go right despite the one-sided Game 1 result, winning the hits battle (52-44) while finishing with a 32-25 advantage in faceoffs. Those victories don’t put pucks in the net, however – and that’s where Montreal reverted to its struggles from the regular season, managing 29 shots but putting together few quality scoring chances against that vaunted Vegas back end.
Montreal will need an offensive boost if it hopes to pull off a third consecutive series upset – and that means getting contributions from players who have been alarmingly silent so far. The focus in that regard will be on forward Brendan Gallagher, who scored 14 goals in 35 games during the regular season but has struck just twice through Montreal’s first 12 postseason games.
Vegas News & Notes
The Golden Knights couldn’t have asked for a much better Game 1 result, dominating 5-on-5 play while getting another terrific effort from netminder Marc-Andre Fleury (29 saves). Even more encouraging, three of Vegas’s four goals came off the sticks of defensemen, after the team had received just six goals from its blue-line corps through the first 13 playoff games.
Still, while it’s great to see the rearguards break out offensively, the Golden Knights would gladly trade those contributions for a slump-busting performance from Mark Stone. The veteran forward, who had 21 goals in the regular season, has scored five times for the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup playoffs but has struck just once over his past nine games.
Betting Pick: UNDER 5 (+115)
Expect to see Montreal clean things up on the defensive end, but we still don’t know where their offense is going to come from – and that should keep the score in this one low.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Montreal is 4-1 in its past 5 games vs Vegas.
- Vegas is 5-0 in its last 5 home games.
- The OVER is 5-1 in the last 6 head-to-head meetings.
