The Washington Capitals can take a commanding 3-1 series lead in their Stanley Cup final clash with the Vegas Golden Knights when they hit the ice for Game 4 on Monday as -130 favourites on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Washington claimed its first-ever win in a Stanley Cup final home contest with stingy defence, limiting Vegas to just 22 shots on goal in Saturday’s 3-1 victory as a -128 wager to seize a 2-1 series lead ahead of Monday night’s Golden Knights versus Capitals betting matchup at Capital One Arena.
With Saturday’s victory the Capitals improved to 5-5 on home ice during the post-season, and have emerged as favourites on the Stanley Cup odds for the first time in the series, vaulting to -240. That’s well ahead of the +115 odds they sported prior to Game 1.
Braden Holtby once again stood tall between the pipes for Washington, strengthening his case for Conn Smythe Trophy consideration by making 21 saves. The Capitals netminder has surrendered just eight total goals over the team’s past five contests, and has now held opponents to two or fewer goals in seven of Washington’s past 11 outings.
That has made the under a consistent winner in totals betting, going 5-1-2 in the Capitals’ past eight games overall, and 4-1-2 in their past seven on home ice.
While the Capitals continue to execute on their rough-and-tumble game plan, cracks are showing in the Golden Knights’ armour for the first time this spring. Saturday night’s loss as a +116 underdog marks the first time this spring that Vegas has suffered consecutive defeats.
In addition, the Golden Knights find themselves trailing on the NHL playoff series prices for the first time since their 4-2 loss to Winnipeg in Game 1 of the Western Conference final. Vegas now sits as a +200 underdog to cap its historic inaugural campaign by raising the Stanley Cup.
Lengthy losing streaks have been a rarity this season for the Golden Knights, who haven’t lost three in a row since late February. The club has also lost consecutive games on the road on just two occasions this season, including defeats in Edmonton and Calgary in a pair of meaningless contests to close out its regular-season schedule.
However, the Golden Knights find themselves in a near must-win situation as they prepare for Game 4 on Monday as +110 underdogs. Only 28 teams in NHL history have successfully rebounded from a 3-1 playoff series deficit, with the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs the lone squad to ever accomplish the feat in the Stanley Cup final.
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