Two West Division powerhouses continue to battle it out in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs when the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights return to Denver with the series tied 2-2.
There’s been a lot of first-period scoring in the series and bookmaker Bovada has the odds at -115 for over 1.5 goals in the opening frame.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 7th, 7:30 P.M. (EST)
Colorado crushed Vegas in Game 1 with a 7-1 victory and they seemed to be on their way to cruising to the Stanley Cup semifinals when Mikko Rantanen lit the lamp in overtime in Game 2, but the Knights managed to tighten up their defense on home ice and here we are.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury faced only 38 total shots in the last two games and putting the puck in the net is clearly a thing the Avalanche have to improve to avoid a shock loss in the series. The veteran netminder is 6-4-0 in the playoffs with a 1.79 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.
Colorado was an overwhelming favorite to progress from the matchup after winning the regular season and starting the postseason with an easy 4-0 series victory over St. Louis.
Nathan MacKinnon was simply unplayable early in the playoffs, but it seems like Vegas has now found a way to stop him with Colorado’s star centerman going pointless in back-to-back games. He picked up 13 points in his first six playoff appearances this season.
However, we could see a big performance by MacKinnon in Game 5 as he hasn’t had a single three-game point drought all year. He’ll look to deliver the Avalanche their eighth home win in 11 meetings with Vegas.
The Knights had 18,081 people – the largest crowd in the NHL this season – cheering them on in Sunday’s 5-1 win and they now have to find a way to silence the stands in Denver. It’s never easy to play the Avalanche on the road and it’s evident by their home results this season as only six visitors have tasted victory at the Ball Arena.
Colorado has dropped three consecutive games just once all year and they likely haven’t been too much bothered by the pair of defeats suffered in Sin City, but all the pressure could be on them if they fail to deliver at home and have to fight off elimination in Game 6.
