Knights vs. Stars Game 3 Prediction
The Golden Knights evened their best-of-seven series with the Stars on Tuesday and tonight Vegas will attempt to take a lead in the Western Conference Finals. From a betting standpoint, what is the best play for Game 3 tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot
039 Vegas Golden Knights (-169) vs. 040 Dallas Stars (+150); o/u 5.5
8:00 p.m. ET, Thursday, September 10, 2020
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game 3, Western Conference Finals
Vegas Golden Knights DFS Spin
Robin Lehner turned aside all 24 shots he faced during Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Dallas in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. Lehner has been in a zone lately. He was rested in Game 1 of this series, but he’s now posted shutouts in each of his last two outings (the other one came in Game 7 against Vancouver in the last round). The 29-year-old is clearly the Golden Knights’ starting goaltender ahead of Marc-Andre Fleury. Lehner now has a 9-4 record this postseason and he’s riding a shutout streak of over 130 minutes. Vegas was able to bounce back after a very stale performance in Game 1. This best-of-seven series is tied up, 1-1.
Dallas Stars DFS Spin
Jake Oettinger stopped all five shots he faced during Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to Vegas in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. Oettinger entered the game in relief of starter Anton Khudobin at the start of the third period. He wasn’t overly busy, but it was nice to see the former first-round draft pick make his NHL debut. The 21-year-old will continue serving as Khudobin’s backup netminder until Ben Bishop is healthy enough to suit up. Oettinger is the Stars’ goalie of the future, but he isn’t someone who should show up on your fantasy radar unless both Khudobin and Bishop get hurt at the same time. This series is tied up, 1-1. Game 3 will be played on Thursday night.
Golden Knights vs. Stars Game 3 Betting Prediction
I clearly don’t have a feel for this series after taking Vegas on the puckline in Game 1 and the Stars on the money line in Game 2, dropping both plays. That said, I thought what Dallas interim coach Rick Bowness said about his team following Vegas’ 3-0 shutout of the Stars on Tuesday. Bowness noted that it was “mental fatigue” that lead to the Stars winning just 39% of their faceoffs in Game 2. He went on to say that his team was “chasing the game,” which was evident in Dallas’ play on Tuesday night. The question is whether or not the Stars will regroup tonight. From a matchup standpoint, I liked the Knights coming into the series and the Stars’ play in Game 1 swayed me ahead of Game 2, which is why I backed Dallas. But the Stars were thoroughly outplayed on Tuesday night and if their coach is talking about his squad suffering from mental fatigue, what happens if they fall behind early tonight? I’m going back to my original thought: The Knights are the better, deeper, more-balanced team and I expect them to take a 2-1 series lead after tonight.
NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS PREDICTION: VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS -1.5 (+155)
