In the last 25 years, no team has controlled the first two games of a Stanley Cup Final more emphatically than the Vegas Golden Knights have. They followed up a 5-2 win in Game 1 with a 7-2 laugher in Game 2, heading to Florida with a +8 goal differential. Teams that have gone up 2-0 in a Stanley Cup Final have gone on to hoist the cup 31 out of 34 times in the expansion era. However, the Panthers have already made an historic comeback once in these playoffs, digging out of a 3-1 hole to knock off Boston, the East’s top seed, in the first round. They’ll need Sergei Bobrovsky, who has fallen from Conn Smythe MVP status to comparisons to Swiss cheese, or a sieve, after just two games, to show up again, and they’ll need that backcheck to protect him without slowing down the offense. Can they do it? We have your NHL betting prediction for Game 3 right here.
NHL Stanley Cup Final Betting Preview for Game 3, Vegas Golden Knights at Florida Panther
Vegas leads, 2-0
When: Tuesday, June 6, 2023, 8:30 pm ET
Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL
TV: TNT
Radio: No National Broadcast
Live Stream: Sling TV
NHL Odds: Vegas +1.5 / Vegas +100 / Florida -120 / O/U 6 goals
Why should you bet on the Golden Knights?
During the regular season, Vegas led the NHL in blocked shots (17.93 per 60 minutes). That number has climbed even higher in the playoffs, to 18.63 per 60 – tops among postseason teams. The focus for their defense is to push shooters to the outside and then get down and block them. The Vegas defensemen has 27 blocks through two games, 73% of the team’s total blocks in the series.
Vegas doesn’t just rely on one or two pairings of defensemen, either. All six defensemen play almost the same amount of time; Alex Pietrangelo has averaged 21:18 of ice time in the Finals to lead the defensemen, while the second-lowest average goes to Zach Whitecloud (18:50). The Panthers do tend to shoot more at home, and with Vegas’ tendency to keep shooters at distance and then block them, if you are interested in an over/under prop on blocked shots, this might be a good game to go high. As far as the outcome of the game, the Golden Knights have managed to frustrate the Panthers thoroughly. This happened in the West finals, when Vegas went up 2-0 at home over Dallas. In Game 3 on the road, Vegas scored an early goal, and the Stars completely lost their composure; their captain was given a match penalty, their goalie didn’t make it out of the first period, and the Golden Knights won a laugher that basically guaranteed them the series. A similar outcome tonight would not surprise me.
Bet on the Golden Knights!
Why should you put your money on the Panthers?
Four goals in two games – not the offensive production that the Panthers need in order to win this series. On the other end, they can’t give up 12 goals every two games. This is the trap that the Bruins lured the Panthers into over the first four games of the first round of the playoffs, but the Panthers were able to figure out how to play a high-octane offensive style without sacrificing open shots on the back end. The Golden Knights have shredded that defense, so now the Panthers have to go back to what worked when they came back against Boston.
Sergei Bobrovsky got pulled 7:10 into the second period, trailing 4-0. That means that in the third period of Game 1, the first period of Game 2 and part of the second period – 47:10 of ice time – he has permitted seven goals. Through the first two games combined, he has an unsightly 5.52 GAA and an .826 save percentage. The defense needs to improve in front of Bobrovsky, but he also needs to get back to stealing saves.
Bet on the Panthers!
Final Score and Prediction
Vegas has played with cool confidence throughout these playoffs, and they just continue finding ways to break down opposing defenses – a trend that actually started after the All-Star break. I see them cruising again to a 4-2 victory.
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