The Vegas Golden Knights will be looking to even their series with the Colorado Avalanche when these teams square off on Sunday. Vegas defeated Colorado on Friday, 3-2. The Avalanche lead the series 2-1.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this West Division battle at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas is the favorite at -115. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts Colorado at -105 as the underdog.
The Avalanche will be without Matt Calvert, Dennis Gilbert, Erik Johnson, Jayson Megna, Logan O’Connor, and Nazem Kadri. The Golden Knights will be without Brayden McNabb. Ryan Reaves returns from suspension for this game. Mattias Janmark and Tomas Nosek are listed as questionable.
Avalanche Can’t Hold Lead
Colorado took the lead 5:04 into the third period, but could not hang on as Vegas rallied for two goals in the final six minutes to defeat the Avalanche, 3-2. Philipp Grubauer played well despite taking the loss, stopping 40 of 43 shots. Carl Soderberg and Mikko Rantanen scored the goals for Avalanche.
Colorado is averaging 4.57 goals per game and they are connecting on 14.1% of their shots, both first in the playoffs. The Avalanche are also first on the power-play at 44.0%. Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado in scoring with eight goals and 13 points. Gabriel Landeskog is second with eight assists and 12 points.
Colorado is allowing 1.86 goals per game and they are killing off 81.3% of penalty-killing situations. Grubauer has a 1.86 GAA and a .941 save percentage in seven playoff starts this year. He is 6-1.
Late Rally Keeps Vegas in Series
Things were looking bleak for the Golden Knights, trailing by one with 5:18 left in the contest. However, Jonathan Marchessault tied the score and Max Pacioretty delivered the game-winner less than a minute later to give Vegas a 3-2 victory. William Karlsson scored the other goal for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 18 of 20 shots.
Vegas is averaging 2.60 goals per game and are connecting on 7.8% of their shot attempts. The Golden Knights are connecting on 13.6% of their power-play opportunities. Three players are tied for the team lead in points with six, including Mark Stone who has four goals, which also leads the team.
The Golden Knights are allowing 2.50 goals per game and are killing off 70.8% of shorthanded situations. Fleury has been outstanding, posting a 1.88 GAA and a .922 save percentage. He is 5-4.
Trends:
Colorado:
- none
Vegas:
- 39-14 in their last 53 games at home.
- 36-13 in their last 49 games on a Sunday.
The Vegas Golden Knights earned a huge victory, the kind you can build off of, especially of the dramatic way in which it occurred. This is a series where home ice advantage is going to rule, as all three contests in the series have been one by the home team. Plus, the home team has won four of the last five meetings between these teams. Expect that to be the case here as well.
Pick: Take Vegas at -115.
The Total:
Eight goals were scored in the opening contest of this series, but five have been scored in each of the last two games. That is more likely the kind of total we should expect to see in every one of the remaining games in the series. These teams have gone under in eight of the last 11 meetings and have gone under in four of the last five in Vegas.
Pick: Go under 5.5 at -125.