The Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights are ready to battle at T-Mobile Arena in Game 1 of the . The action will get started at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, May 28, and it is being televised live on NBC.
Washington Capitals vs. Vegas Golden Knights Odds
Vegas (+125) is playing the role of underdog to Vegas (-145), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -125 under, +105 over.
Vegas is 63-34 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 25.6 units this season. Through 97 regular season outings, 47 of the teams games have gone over the total, while 46 have gone under and just four have pushed. The team is 35-13 SU at home this season.
After producing the 10th-best power-play unit in the regular season (finding net on 21.0 percent of all chances), the Golden Knights have been able to score on 17.6 percent of their extra-man advantages in the postseason.
The Golden Knights offensive skaters attempted 32.6 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.2 goals per contest (ranked fourth overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the teams maintaining an average of 31.5 shots on goal 2.9 goals per game.
Sporting a .932 save percentage and 28.8 saves per game, Marc-Andre Fleury (41-20-5) has been the primary goalkeeper for Vegas this season. If head coach Gerard Gallant decides to give him a breather, however, Vegas may go with Malcolm Subban (15-7-7 record, .910 save percentage, 2.68 goals against average).
The Knights will continue looking for offensive production out of Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson. Marchessault (93 points) has tallied 35 goals and 58 assists and has recorded two or more points in 28 different games this year. Karlsson has 49 goals and 42 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 61 games.
On the other bench, Washington is 61-40 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 16.6 units this season. A total of 53 of its contests have gone over the total, while 43 have gone under and just five have pushed. As a road team, the Capitals are 29-22 SU.
The Capitals have scored on 23.8 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 16th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.4 percent of all penalties.
Washington’s players have been penalized 4.0 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five on the road. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Braden Holtby (27.0 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for Washington. Holtby owns a 46-26-5 record, while registering a .911 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Capitals will be Alex Ovechkin (61 goals, 48 assists) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (38 goals, 69 assists).
Washington Capitals vs. Vegas Golden Knights Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Golden Knights, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in three of Vegas last five games.
- Over Washington’s last ten games, eight of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-3 in those games).
