Over the weekend, the Vegas Golden Knights completed the round robin mini-tournament before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The team from Nevada played three games without losing any.
Securing wins against the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Avalanche has earned the Golden Knights the No. 1 seed position in the Western Conference as they head into the playoffs.
Golden Knights limited in home ice advantage
The Golden Knights are set to face the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the playoffs, in a best of seven series. The Blackhawks recently secured a 3-1 victory in their best of five series against the Edmonton Oilers. Furthermore, they are the 12th seed in the Western Conference.
The Golden Knights are the favorites to emerge victorious in the series against the Blackhawks. Nonetheless, the concept of home ice advantage carries a different significance this year.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are taking place in two isolated zones. The Golden Knights and Blackhawks are situated in the Western Conference isolated zone in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Traditional home ice advantage influenced by fans is non-existent since games are being conducted without spectators. However, higher-seeded teams still retain a few advantages.
This year, each round of the first two rounds of the playoffs will be reseeded. The team with the highest seed will always face off against the team with the lowest seed. Given that Vegas holds the No. 1 seed, they will compete against the lowest-ranked team left in the division in the subsequent playoff round.
One traditional home ice advantage that will continue to impact every game is that the home team will have the advantage of making the final line change.
This gives the home team the advantage of controlling the on-ice matchup before each faceoff. Given that the Golden Knights are the home team in this matchup, they will have this minor advantage in four of the seven games in the series.
Golden Knights matchup against the Blackhawks
The series kicks off with its first game in Edmonton on Tuesday, August 11, at 7:30 p.m. PT. For the initial two games of the series, Vegas will serve as the home team. The schedule for the remaining games is as follows (please note that the game time is only indicated for the series’ first four games):
- Home in Vegas, August 13 at 2:30 p.m.
- 5 p.m. on August 15 at home in Chicago
- 3:30 p.m. on August 16 (Home in Chicago)
- Time to be announced for Aug. 18th, home game in Vegas.
- Time to be announced on August 20, Chicago home game.
- Time to be announced for Aug. 22 (Home game in Vegas)
“Shea Theodore, a defenseman for the Golden Knights, spoke highly of the Blackhawks in an interview with NHL.com. “They’re a strong team,” he said. “I observed most of their games during the play-in round. They possess speed, skill, and excellent goaltending – they truly have it all. It promises to be an exciting matchup,” he added.
In the round robin games, Mark Stone, a right-winger, led the Golden Knights as the top scorer. He earned five points in the initial three games, which consisted of two goals and three assists.
Goalie Robin Lehner might spend more time in the net than initially anticipated. Coach Peter DeBoer was assessing Lehner’s performance in the round robin games compared to starter Marc-Andre Fleury. There could be a change in who’s playing in the goal from game one of the series onwards for the remainder of the playoffs.
The upcoming series could significantly impact Lehner’s future in the league. After the season, the goalkeeper will become an unrestricted free agent.
This season, the Golden Knights emerged victorious in two out of three games against the Blackhawks. One of these wins was secured through a shootout. However, in the Stanley Cup Playoff games, tied games are extended into overtime periods until a winner is determined, eliminating the possibility of a shootout to break a tie at the end of regulation.
Golden Knights vs. Blackhawks betting odds
Initially, the Golden Knights were -250 favorites as opposed to the Blackhawks who were at +205 when the series odds were first released for the matchup. However, after bettors heavily favored the early odds, by the time this article was written, the Golden Knights’ odds had increased to -300 favorites to win the series at BetMGM on Monday morning.
The Golden Knights are now at -340 at William Hill sportsbooks, showing that odds are increasingly favoring them.
“Anything can happen, as we witnessed in the qualifying round,” stated Nick Bogdanovich, William Hill US’s director of trading. “In the NHL, the underdogs always have quite a fighting chance. This is the only sport where it’s no surprise to see the No. 8 seed overcome the No. 1 seed,” he added.
Station Casinos are predicting the Golden Knights as a significant -210 favorite to win the first game of the series. On the other hand, the Blackhawks have odds of +175 to take the first win as the visiting team in the series. The predicted total goals for the game is 6.5.
According to Jeff Sherman, VP of Risk Management at Westgate Superbook, the Golden Knights are currently favored to win the Stanley Cup with odds of 9/2. The Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning are jointly the second favorites with odds of 6-1.
Those seeking a straightforward betting option can place a “Yes” bet on the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup at Circa Sports with odds of +520. Alternatively, a “No” bet, implying that the Golden Knights will not win the Stanley Cup, comes with odds of -820.
