Back The Under In Game 1

Stars vs. Golden Knights, 8:35 ET

We are just hours removed from the last hockey game – not just because it started last night, but they played almost four full overtimes in the game and it ended after midnight this morning. But, that is a different series. This is Game 1 between the Dallas Stars and the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Let’s examine how they got here and what we can expect from Game 1.

Dallas comes in as the road team for this series, something they haven’t been to start either of the first two series that they’ve played. They opened up the series against the Wild and took a loss. Then they won four of the next five games to take down the series in six games. Once again, they lost the opener to the Kraken then took them down in seven games. They showed their fortitude with a win in Game 7 when they held the Kraken to just 23 shots. Vegas hs been on the offensive in most of their games this season. They lost the opener at home against Winnipeg and then reeled off five straight playoff victories – the four against Winnipeg and one against Edmonton. They’ve lost three games this postseason, two of those games have come at home. Only two of their games this postseason have been one score games, so when they win, they win big. If they lose, they’ve lost by at least three goals.

Dallas and Vegas matchup pretty well actually. The Stars have a solid offense, but it has been a bit inconsistent this postseason. Their defense has been a little more reliable, but has some notable outliers where they allowed six and seven goals in two of their losses to the Kraken. Dallas has been solid on the road this season and this is a good opportunity for them to take the opener. The Golden Knights are playing very good hockey and have won with both offensive onslaughts and defensive stands. I’m interested to see who they put in the net tonight because they did switch the goalie in the middle of the series against the Oilers. The Stars won all three games against the Golden Knights during the regular season so it might not matter who is in the net if the Golden Knights can’t figure out the Stars’ defense.

I’m going to take the under in this game. This could be a bit of a feeling out game. Both teams should be fresh after plenty of days off, but this is one of those times that feels like they should have a defensive match instead of offensive attacks. I’m going to take under 5.5. I do lean toward the Stars taking this game, but I think the under is a better play.

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