This is always a strong time of year for the sporting calendar. We get both NBA and NHL playoffs, but we also have baseball every day. The WNBA has started, and there is even conversation around the looming NBA Draft. The only thing that has mild news is the NFL, and that still dominates conversations. Tonight we have a Western Conference Final game in the NHL.
The Vegas Golden Knights have found their way to the Conference Finals once again. This team hasn’t been in existence for very long, just since 2017-18. In those nine seasons, they have reached the Conference Finals five times. They’ve only missed the playoffs once in their existence. This has been a strong season for Vegas, and they have a chance to make it even better.
The Golden Knights went 39-26-17 in the regular season, but struggled a bit on the road. In the playoffs, they’ve been very good. They won 4-2 against the Mammoth in the first round. In the second round, they went 4-2 as well, beating the Ducks. Now they have to face the toughest team in the Western Conference, but they already took the opener 4-2. They are going to have Carter Hart in the net again. He’s had a strong postseason with a .920 save percentage and allowed just 2.35 goals per game.
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The Colorado Avalanche are the top team in the NHL and were the favorite to hoist the Stanley Cup for most of the season. They are so good that it seems like their third line might be just as good as many other teams’ first lines. They put together a fantastic 55-16-11 record in the regular season, and they were even better at home with a 26-9-6 record. They are now just two series wins from completing the goal, but they are behind in the series, so there is work to be done.
The Avalanche have had a fairly easy run in this postseason. They swept the Kings in the first round. Two of the games were close — the first two of the postseason were 2-1 wins. In the second round, Colorado won 4-1. These games weren’t very close. The team won three of their four games by three goals. The close-out game was a 4-3 win in overtime. They should have Scott Wedgewood in the net tonight. He was the league’s best goalie with a 2.02 goals-against per game average and a .921 save percentage. His save percentage has gone down to .911 in the postseason.
In Game 1, the Avalanche struggled to get things going on offense. They still had 10 more shots than the Golden Knights, but they couldn’t find the back of the net. They won in virtually every stat with the exception of the one that matters most — goals scored.
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Tonight in Game 2, expect a mad Avalanche team. They haven’t lost two games in a row this postseason, and during the regular season, they only lost two or more games in a row six times. I’m not backing them on the puck line or the money line because I don’t like the odds. Instead, I’m taking the under 6.5 goals. Both goalies have been very strong and should continue to be locked in here. Give me the under.