2018 Stanley Cup Finals Game 4: Vegas at Washington NHL Odds

For the first time in this postseason, the Vegas Golden Knights find themselves trailing in a postseason series. They beat the Washington Capitals, 6-4, in an electric series opener, but dropped Game Two by a 3-2 margin thanks to a larcenous save from Caps goalie Braden Holtby, and then lost Game Three in Washington on Saturday, by a 3-1 margin. Now the Golden Knights need a crucial Game Four win to avoid heading back to the desert on the brink of elimination. Can the Golden Knights find their mojo after just putting 21 shots on net in Game Three? Or will Washington take one more step toward their first Stanley Cup in franchise history? Check out our NHL odds preview for this titanic matchup.

2018 Stanley Cup Finals Game 4: Vegas at Washington NHL Odds

When: Monday, June 4, 2018, 8:00pm ET Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC TV: NBC Radio: KRLV 1340 AM Las Vegas / KFED 1500 AM Washington Live Stream: NBC Sports Live NHL Odds: Washington -177 / Vegas +135 / O/U 5.5

Why should you bet on the Golden Knights?

All season long, Vegas has taken on challenge after challenge and met them head-on, so I don’t see them folding mentally just because they find themselves at a series deficit. Jonathan Marchessault has led the postseason goal scoring for Vegas with eight tallies, while Reilly Smith has dished out 16 assists. James Neal leads the team with 60 shots on goal, and the team has scored 3.3 goals per night. In the last two games, the team has combined for just three goals, as Washington has increased their effectiveness on defense, but Vegas has the scorers to turn things back around. On defense, Vegas has permitted just 2.7 goals per game, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has posted a 0.937 save percentage to this point. However, the blue line appears to be leaking a bit for the Golden Knights, as they have permitted at least three goals in five of their last ten contests. The scrutiny that comes when you face the same team multiple times over the course of a series may be taking its toll, as the Caps appear to be finding cracks in this no-name roster and taking advantage of them. If you like Vegas, you see the scheme reasserting itself as Washington perhaps may relax with the lead.

Why should you bet on the Capitals?

Alex Ovechkin is finally getting the Stanley Cup Finals that many of his critics have said he should have been winning in for several years now. In his first home game in a Stanley Cup Final, he was transcendent, scoring his 14th goal of the postseason, getting down on the ice to stop shots, finishing his checks and delivering the sort of passion that he has not always shown in this more advanced stage of his game. Along with Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ovechkin appears to have taken over this series. Kuznetsov beat Fleury with a wrister — and the 2-on-1 rush that produced the goal showed that the Golden Knights were frazzled — something we haven’t seen this season. The Capitals are killing off penalties at an 80.3% clip, and they have limited opponents to no more than two goals in four of their last five games — with the exception coming in this series opener. If you take out the goal that Vegas scored in Game Three thanks to a bad pass by Holtby, the Caps have only given up two other goals in their last four wins.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

This is the point in a postseason series when defense starts to take center stage and the goals become harder to come by. Physical play increases, and teams end up one bounce away from victory — or disaster. Washington has looked focused in the last two games, while Vegas has steadily lost energy and composure. I see the Capitals winning this game in front of another rowdy home crowd, by a final score of 3-2.