Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Saturday 6/2/18
Vegas Golden Knights at Washington Capitals (-125, 5.5)
Series tied 1-1
The Washington Capitals attempt to take the lead in the Stanley Cup finals when they host the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night for Game 3, but they may have to do it without the leading scorer in the playoffs or one at less than 100 percent. Washington center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who boasts 25 points in the postseason, suffered an upper-body injury in Wednesday’s 3-2 victory and will likely be a game-time decision.
“He’s a heck of a player with a pretty unique skill set,” Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen told reporters. “We have a little bit of a different look if he can’t play. … We’ll see if he’s ready to go for Game 3 or not, but we’ll cross that bridge when it comes.” Washington goaltender Braden Holtby, who made a remarkable save to preserve the lead late in Game 2, said his team must take advantage of their own rink while Vegas looks to convert its chances better after outshooting the Capitals 39-26 on Wednesday. “Nobody said it’s going to be a 4-0 series,” Vegas center Erik Haula told reporters. “It’s going to be ups and downs. We’ve been here before. We’ve been good on the road. Just put this behind, learn from your mistakes, just try to do things better, and that’s it.” Reilly Smith owns a goal and two assists in the series for the Golden Knights, tying fellow forward Jonathan Marchessault for the team lead with 19 points in the playoffs.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA
LINE HISTORY AND BETTING ACTION: The Caps opened Game 3 as -150 home favorites, but as of Friday nightthey had been faded down to -125, while the total hit the board at 5.5. According to William HIll US, the Golden Knights are seeing 68 percent of the wagers, but just 44 percent of the total dollars wagers as of Thursday night. Check out the complete line history here.
COVERS CONSENSUS: The line move mentioned above could be an indication of some sharp money on the Golden Knights, as they are seeing just 41 percent of public wagers. When it comes to the total, bettors think the high scoring will continue with 69 percent of bets on the Over. Check out the latest consensus data here.
GOALIE SHOWDOWN:
GP W L GAA SAVE % SO
Marc-Andre Fleury (Golden Knights) 17 14 3 1.88 .939 4
Braden Holtby (Capitals) 20 13 7 2.19 .921 2
INJURY REPORT:
Golden Knights - LW William Carrier (Questionable, upper body), G Malcolm Subban (Doubtful, illness), D Clayton Stoner (Out, abdominal).
Capitals - C Evgeny Kuznetsov (Questionable, forearm).
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Coach Gerard Gallant is looking for his team to win a few more battles in front of the net to capitalize on opportunities and get the home-ice advantage back in the series. “They played a grittier game than we did,” Gallant told reporters of Wednesday’s setback. “We still has chances to win that game, and we didn’t play a real bad game. It’s just that we didn’t pay a price enough to win. There were some things we’ve got to get better at.” Defenseman Shea Theodore has a goal and an assist in the first two games of the series and leads the team’s blueliners with nine points in the playoffs while posting a plus-5 rating.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: Veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik scored Wednesday for his first goal in 220 games, including playoffs, since Feb. 26, 2016 and leads all players this postseason with a plus-16 rating. Captain Alex Ovechkin scored his 13th goal of the playoffs in Game 2 to push his total to 24 points - second on the team behind Kuznetsov - and has hit the scoresheet in 16 of his 21 postseason contests. Center Lars Eller, who Ovechkin calls the team’s “secret weapon," would get a bigger role if Kuznetsov cannot go and the 29-year-old from Denmark registered a goal and two assists in the Game 2 triumph.
TRENDS:
* Golden Knights are 6-2 in their last eight road games.
* Capitals are 6-2 in their last eight after allowing two goals or less in their previous game.
* Under is 4-0-1 in Golden Knights last five road games.
* Under is 13-3 in Capitals last 16 vs. Pacific Division opponents.
OVERTIME BONUS NOTES:
* Vegas G Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed seven goals in the first two games after yielding six in the previous four.
* Ovechkin needs one goal to tie John Druce (14 in 1989-90) for the franchise lead in a playoff season.
* The Capitals have converted one of their three power-play opportunities in the series and the Golden Knights are 2-for-6.
Preview: Golden Knights at Capitals
Gracenote
Jun 1, 2018
The Washington Capitals attempt to take the lead in the Stanley Cup finals when they host the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night for Game 3, but they may have to do it without the leading scorer in the playoffs or one at less than 100 percent. Washington center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who boasts 25 points in the postseason, suffered an upper-body injury in Wednesday’s 3-2 victory and will likely be a game-time decision.
“He’s a heck of a player with a pretty unique skill set,” Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen told reporters. “We have a little bit of a different look if he can’t play. … We’ll see if he’s ready to go for Game 3 or not, but we’ll cross that bridge when it comes.” Washington goaltender Braden Holtby, who made a remarkable save to preserve the lead late in Game 2, said his team must take advantage of their own rink while Vegas looks to convert its chances better after outshooting the Capitals 39-26 on Wednesday. “Nobody said it’s going to be a 4-0 series,” Vegas center Erik Haula told reporters. “It’s going to be ups and downs. We’ve been here before. We’ve been good on the road. Just put this behind, learn from your mistakes, just try to do things better, and that’s it.” Reilly Smith owns a goal and two assists in the series for the Golden Knights, tying fellow forward Jonathan Marchessault for the team lead with 19 points in the playoffs.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Coach Gerard Gallant is looking for his team to win a few more battles in front of the net to capitalize on opportunities and get the home-ice advantage back in the series. “They played a grittier game than we did,” Gallant told reporters of Wednesday’s setback. “We still has chances to win that game, and we didn’t play a real bad game. It’s just that we didn’t pay a price enough to win. There were some things we’ve got to get better at.” Defenseman Shea Theodore has a goal and an assist in the first two games of the series and leads the team’s blueliners with nine points in the playoffs while posting a plus-5 rating.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: Veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik scored Wednesday for his first goal in 220 games, including playoffs, since Feb. 26, 2016 and leads all players this postseason with a plus-16 rating. Captain Alex Ovechkin scored his 13th goal of the playoffs in Game 2 to push his total to 24 points - second on the team behind Kuznetsov - and has hit the scoresheet in 16 of his 21 postseason contests. Center Lars Eller, who Ovechkin calls the team’s “secret weapon," would get a bigger role if Kuznetsov cannot go and the 29-year-old from Denmark registered a goal and two assists in the Game 2 triumph.
OVERTIME
1. Vegas G Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed seven goals in the first two games after yielding six in the previous four.
2. Ovechkin needs one goal to tie John Druce (14 in 1989-90) for the franchise lead in a playoff season.
3. The Capitals have converted one of their three power-play opportunities in the series and the Golden Knights are 2-for-6.
PREDICTION: Capitals 4, Golden Knights 2
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W/L Trends
Vegas
Golden Knights are 6-1 in their last 7 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Golden Knights are 5-1 in their last 6 overall.
Golden Knights are 25-7 in their last 32 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Golden Knights are 16-5 in their last 21 vs. a team with a winning record.
Golden Knights are 6-2 in their last 8 road games.
Golden Knights are 1-4 in their last 5 games playing on 2 days rest.
Golden Knights are 1-4 in their last 5 Saturday games.
Washington
Capitals are 6-2 in their last 8 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Capitals are 19-7 in their last 26 Saturday games.
Capitals are 20-8 in their last 28 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Capitals are 5-2 in their last 7 vs. Western Conference.
Capitals are 94-41 in their last 135 home games.
Capitals are 50-22 in their last 72 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Capitals are 25-11 in their last 36 overall.
Capitals are 35-16-5 in their last 56 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days.
Capitals are 17-8 in their last 25 games playing on 2 days rest.
Capitals are 1-5 in their last 6 Stanley Cup Finals games.
OU Trends
Vegas
Under is 4-0-1 in Golden Knights last 5 road games.
Under is 4-0-1 in Golden Knights last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Over is 3-1-2 in Golden Knights last 6 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Under is 6-2 in Golden Knights last 8 vs. Eastern Conference.
Over is 3-1-1 in Golden Knights last 5 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Under is 5-2-1 in Golden Knights last 8 overall.
Under is 5-2 in Golden Knights last 7 vs. Metropolitan.
Under is 5-2-1 in Golden Knights last 8 vs. a team with a winning record.
Over is 11-5-2 in Golden Knights last 18 games playing on 2 days rest.
Washington
Over is 5-1-3 in Capitals last 9 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Under is 13-3 in Capitals last 16 vs. Pacific.
Under is 4-1-2 in Capitals last 7 overall.
Over is 8-2-1 in Capitals last 11 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Under is 4-1-2 in Capitals last 7 vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Over is 8-2 in Capitals last 10 Saturday games.
Over is 4-1 in Capitals last 5 vs. Western Conference.
Under is 3-1-2 in Capitals last 6 home games.
Over is 23-8-3 in Capitals last 34 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
NHL
Saturday, June 2
Trend Report
Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Vegas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vegas's last 6 games
Vegas is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Vegas is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vegas's last 5 games on the road
Washington Capitals
Washington is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Washington is 13-6 SU in its last 19 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games
Washington is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games at home