WC Game Three: Dallas Stars vs Vegas Golden Betting Preview
The Knights are Golden After Sweeping Two Road Games in Dallas.
The Dallas Stars (0-2) are left looking for answers after the Vegas Golden Knights (2-0) marched into the Lone Star State and skated to a 3-1 victory in a game that Dallas needed, showing why game two is the most important in a playoff series.
A win in the second game sets the tone for the rest of the series with this match-up being no exception. Oddsmakers opened VGK -120 at home in game three, but that number was bet down to -115 with the total 5.5 (over -125).
Puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT and can be seen TBS, truTV, SCRIPS, Bally Sports Southwest, and MAX. Let’s get into our Stars vs Knights betting preview.
Dallas Stars vs Vegas Golden Knights 
Day/Time:
Location: T-Mobile Arena
Streaming: TBS, truTV, SCRIPS, Bally Sports Southwest, & MAX
Dallas Dragged Into A Physical Game
The postseason is when you’re supposed to turn up the level of physicality and both teams have done that, but it’s the Stars who have left character to match the Knights.
There are times when Vegas is the bully with Dallas holding their own for now. In game one we mentioned that there were 86 combined hits with the Knights delivering 55.
In game two it was apparent that head coach Pete Deboer told his team that they needed to match Vegas’ intensity, a good idea but the hits don’t put points on the board unless you’re able to transition off puck separation.
Dallas finished game two with 54 hits but with attention on their physical game, the Stars were able to muster just one goal on just 21 shots. Why is game two important to the team that lost game one, because the last thing a team down 1-0 in a series wants to do is go down 2-0, meaning we’ll get their best, especially at home. We think we made that effort and it still wasn’t good enough. Deboer’s team is left with one card to play and that’s the will to win.
Everything Is Going As Planned
The Golden Knights are flexing in Dallas and the Los Angeles Kings have found their way to split on the road in Edmonton. You can almost see President George McPhee and owner Bill Foley rubbing their hands together in a suite high above T-Mobile Arena with an evil grin and laugh to match.
That’s how the rest of the NHL views the Knights but the reality is these two gentlemen could be the smartest in hockey. We have been privileged to say that we have interacted with both of them over the years and the two lawyers are as brilliant as advertised.
It took six years but they finally got the coach who will stay in Vegas for a long time Bruce Cassidy, who knows a thing or two about getting his teams to crank up their physicality. He matches his boss’s intensity and that has trickled down to his team who has held the Stars to five goals in two games despite having seven players who could be among the NHL goal leaders in any given season.
We know this, the Dallas Stars who averaged just 17.8 hits per game during the regular season are being asked to add an aspect of their game that isn’t who they are.
It’s like a pitcher in baseball adding a cutter in the postseason and being instructed to use it more than what made him successful in the regular season.
The Stanley Cup champions have been masterful at exposing the Stars’ weakness and with Pete DeBoer making a 3-year pitstop in his coaching career in Vegas, you know everyone knows the system and how they play it. The Vegas Golden Knights are more comfortable against Dallas in any barn, while the Kings wear down the Oilers.
Bettors Pounding Dallas
We’re not entirely sure what the betting public is seeing with the number falling in favor of the Stars, the likely answer is nothing. Bettors are putting their money behind the due theory but we think Dallas is hanging from a cliff by one arm.
The obvious goal is to limit the length of this series while hoping the Kings and Oilers go six or seven games. At the end of the postseason, the Knights will be once against among the top NHL teams instead of what their regular season would suggest.
Our official game three selection is to go right back with the Golden Knights but wait until game time because that number has been going in our favor with every passing minute. That does it for our Stars vs Knights betting preview, all the best with your NHL picks and parlay on Friday.
