For perhaps the first time all season, the Vegas Golden Knights are facing serious pressure to win a game, as they visit the Washington Capitals on Monday night in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC. The Golden Knights won the first game of this series but they have dropped the past two and if they can’t find an answer on Monday they will head back home down 3-1 in the series. Let’s take a look at Monday’s contest and Stanley Cup picks.
Don't miss the ice action from Capital One Arena at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, June 4, 2018. Catch every moment of the game live on NBC.
We'll have NHL odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Game 4 Odds – Washington -130, total 5.5 under
The Washington Capitals played their first Stanley Cup Final game at home in 13 years and they delivered a 3-1 win in Game 3 on Saturday night. Alex Ovechkin led the way and he got help from Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals two best players played well and Washington is poised to take firm control of the series. Washington had a number of excellent scoring chances, but Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves and kept Vegas in the game. The problem for Vegas is that the rest of his teammates did very little. Vegas now trails in a series for the first time in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. "All year we've had a lot of guys going," Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland said to the media. "That hasn't been the case. Our goalie's been bailing us out with huge saves all night and we have to bear down and be better for him."
For perhaps the first time all season, the Golden Knights looked like an expansion team in Game 3. The only reason the game wasn’t a complete rout was the play of Fleury. Vegas now has to find a way to rally in Game 4. "We haven't been behind in any series," Fleury said to the media. "It doesn't mean we're out of it." The Capitals have been blitzing Fleury, while the Golden Knights are finding it tough to get anything past Braden Holtby. Just getting shots through has been tough. "We're doing a great job of creating the right layers, guys going out there strategically to know which lane I'm picking for sight lines and they're taking away the other half and making big blocks.” Holtby said to the media. “That's a huge part of why we're having success defensively because it's all through our lineup."
Key Matchup
The defense of the Golden Knights has not played well in this series. Vegas was fortunate to win Game 1, as the offense showed up in a big way, but the offense was virtually non-existent in the last two games. Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore played poorly in Game 3 and his mistakes cost his team two goals. Vegas simply can’t make mistakes and expect to win this series because Washington has superstar scorers who take advantage of mistakes.
Key Stats
The Golden Knights are 20-6 in their last 26 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game. The Capitals are 7-2 in their last 9 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game. The Capitals are 26-9 in their last 35 Monday games. Looking at the total, the Under is 5-0-1 in the Golden Knights last 6 road games. The Under is 5-1-2 in the Capitals last 8 overall.
Free NHL Picks
The Golden Knights really need to win this game on Monday, but I still think Washington is the better team. I will take Washington on Monday night and also play the game to go under the total.
NHL Odds: Take the Capitals and Under in Game 4
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