Defense Key For Both Sides Tonight

Golden Knights vs. Stars, 8:00 ET

We took down another victory on the ice last night and with the season winding down, we have limited opportunities to grab units before the end of the year. I'll take tonight as one of those opportunities. I have struggled on the first two games of this series, but I think we can find an angle here tonight. Game 3 between the Golden Knights and Dallas Stars is our time to shine.

The first two games have been hotly contested games between these two teams. Both games went to overtime, and both ended with the Golden Knights winning. The winning goal was almost a carbon copy with a goal just a minute or so into overtime. In Game 1 the Stars opened up the scoring with a goal in the first and then they gave up the lead in the second period. Both of them put in two goals in the third before Vegas finally won in overtime. In Game 2, the story was much the same. The Stars scored in the first period, and then Golden Knights matched them. No team is just dominating a game and then giving away the game. One game went over and then the next went under as well.

Golden Knights have a 2-0 series lead against the Stars. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)

Now, the series shifts to Dallas in a must-win game for the Stars. The Golden Knights being up 2-0 puts the Stars in a situation where their backs are against the wall. As I mentioned, it isn't like the Stars have played poorly and lost, they are somewhat in bad luck situations. Now that they have home-ice advantage, maybe the luck will balance out a bit. I also think the Stars getting a lead, as they have in the first two games, is important once again. If they can jump out to an early lead, they should have a better chance to protect it tonight. I don't personally think it is a good strategy to get behind in a game so the Golden Knights need to come out very aggressive in order to win this game. They want to cut off any hopes of a series comeback from the Stars and they need to jump out to a comfortable lead to start the game.

The first game of this series went over the 5.5 total, but I think that was somewhat flukey. They scored four goals in the third period, otherwise that game would've gone under as well. Game 2 saw five goals, and again that was an overtime game. I'll take the under 5.5 here. Dallas has to bring the defense, and they aren't lighting up the Vegas goalkeeper so I'll take under.

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