NHL Playoffs Best Bets, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (Golden Knights vs. Stars)
Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals is set to take place with the Dallas Stars hosting the Vegas Golden Knights. Below, I give out my best bet for this potential series-ending tilt.
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Today’s Best NHL Bets
Odds courtesy of BetRivers Sportsbook
Vegas Golden Knights (+108) at Dallas Stars (-125) | O/U 5.5 (-107/-114)
After winning each of the first three matchups in this series, the Vegas Golden Knights can clinch a berth to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in their mere six years of existence. That is exactly what we are going to back them to do as they look to complete the sweep of the Dallas Stars in Game 4.
Dallas’ season has, obviously, fallen apart in this series, but Game 3 was the perfect embodiment of this collapse. Not only did the Stars lose 4-0 in a game that was never competitive, but we saw the ugly side of failure with fans throwing stuff on the ice, dirty cross-checks that will lead to a suspension, and a bad slash by Max Domi that led to a $5,000 fine on Wednesday morning, the largest amount possible under the current CBA.
Going back to the dirty cross-check, Jamie Benn delivered a gross cross-check to the face/neck area of a downed Mark Stone, leading to Benn’s ejection. Although the punishment has yet to be handed down from the league at the time of writing, he will surely be suspended for at least Game 4 and, most likely, Game 5 as well if the series reaches that point.
Not only will Dallas miss Benn in Game 4, but Evgenii Dadonov is also expected to remain sidelined due to an injury sustained in Game 3. The Stars are going to be missing two key forwards from their middle six, which will likely be the final nail in the coffin for a team that looked utterly lifeless in their 4-0 defeat on Tuesday.
Lastly, goaltender Jake Oettinger is slated to take the crease for Dallas, and it has shockingly been a disastrous past two rounds for the typically excellent netminder. Over the past two rounds, Oettinger is 4-6 with a .870 SV% and 3.79 GAA.
I do not see a single positive that the Stars can take from Game 3, and this series is likely over.
Best Bet: Golden Knights ML (+108)
Best of luck!
Also make sure to check out our other best bets for Thursday:
- MLB No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Picks & Predictions
- NBA Playoffs Same Game Parlay Odds, Picks & Predictions
- NHL Playoffs Player PrizePicks Predictions
- WNBA Best Bet Odds, Picks & Predictions
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Tony Sartori is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tony, check out his archive and follow him @tony_sartori.