Stars (+137) @ Golden Knights (5.5)
Pick: Stars +137
Are we sure the Dallas Stars are not just simply better than the Vegas Golden Knights? Dallas prided itself on defense and goaltending in the regular season, but we saw the Stars embrace a faster style with more scoring chances in the first two rounds of the postseason against Calgary and Colorado. Particularly against the Avalanche, a team loaded with firepower up front, the Stars needed to be willing to trade blows offensively to a degree. But, Game 1 of the Western Conference Final saw the Stars get back to their regular season identity. John Klingberg got Dallas on the board early in the first period and the goal from the Swedish defenseman would hold up in a 1-0 Stars win.
The fact that Dallas can win in a variety of ways speaks volumes this time of year and it might be the perfect time for the Stars to revert back to winning low-scoring games. Vegas has seen its offense go dormant in recent playoff games. If you take out the two empty-net goals the Golden Knights scored in Game 7 against Vancouver, Vegas has tallied just two goals in its last four games. With that in mind, the Stars would be wise to attempt to mirror their Game 1 victory moving forward in which both teams only registered 25 shots a piece. I don’t think the market has adjusted properly to the cold streak Vegas is in the midst of offensively so I will gladly back Dallas at this price to go up 2-0.