The Golden Knights will need a big performance from captain Mark Stone, who finished last postseason with 11 goals and 24 points in 22 games.
Friday caps off the week with two exciting elimination games that will see the Nashville Predators and defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights battle to keep their championship hopes alive.
Thursday, we split our Leafs game predictions as we have a lot recently and hope to see a kick in the right direction in the win column heading into the second round. We are dead even at 6-6 for our record over our last 12 picks.
All betting lines are from BetMGM and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Bet: Canucks Predators Over 5.5 goals (-105)
Nashville gets listed as the favourite in their Game six matchup versus Vancouver as the Canucks continue to try and overcome their difficulties in net due to injuries.
They are down to their third-string goalie in 23-year-old Arturs Silovs, who is being underrated as he was a competent starter during the season with a 2.47 goals against average in four NHL appearances and a 2.74 average through 34 AHL appearances.
He played well even in the Canucks Game five loss as he allowed just two goals and saved 20 of the Predators’ 22 shots. Every few years we see a story like this where a rookie goalie enters the picture and takes over to help carry the team like Matt Murray with the Pittsburgh Penguins for their two recent Stanley Cups.
Silovs feels like a very similar story as the Canucks have rallied around the Latvian netminder and have helped him lose just one game in regulation during his time in the NHL.
The Canucks were one of the better road teams in the league this season with a 23-14-3 record and they carried that success into this series with wins during Games three and four on the road.
This series has seen two of the five games total over six goals but close out games have appeared to be high-scoring this postseason with the Rangers, Panthers, Hurricanes, Oilers and Avalanche all advancing with their final game of the series totalling over six goals.
Vancouver will want to continue their road success and should get the job done but not before allowing a couple goals on their end due to the young netminder.
Bet: Golden Knights Over 2.5 goals (-155), Mark Stone Over 0.5 points (-125)
The Stars have climbed all the way back into their series with the Golden Knights after three straight wins leading into tonight’s Game six. Vegas has been a significantly better at home rather than on the road this season but have dropped both home games this series and will have a tough time stopping a Dallas team that excels on the road.
The two wins for the Stars added to their recent hot streak where they’ve gone 10-1-0 over their last 11 road games. During that run, they didn’t only top the Golden Knights twice but they ran through the Kings, Avalanche and Canucks.
They can add to their impressive record in the building that seems impossible to win at with a 6-3-1 record over their last ten games at T-Mobile Arena. Similarly to the Canucks series with the Predators, only two of the five games between Vegas and Dallas have totalled over six goals.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4iMX0a3N7g[/embed]
The Golden Knights started off red hot with seven goals through the first two games but were quickly cooled off for a pair of goals in each of the following games. They will need to ignite their offense if they want a chance at Game seven and they should get to that total with the help of their captain Mark Stone.
He kicked the series off with a goal in his first game back after a lengthy absence due to a lacerated spleen. He was a big reason for the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup last season with 11 goals and 24 points in 22 games. He should help get his team on the board in a must-win game.