The Vegas Golden Knights (22-8-1) square off in the second of a two-game set against the Colorado Avalanche (21-8-3) Saturday for a 3 p.m. ET puck drop at Ball Arena. Below, we analyze the Golden Knights-Avalanche odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
Golden Knights at Avalanche: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 4:17 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Golden Knights +150 (bet $100 to win $150) | Avalanche -175 (bet $175 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Golden Knights +1.5 (-190) | Avalanche -1.5 (+155)
- Over/Under: 5.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Golden Knights at Avalanche: Projected starting goalies
Robin Lehner (5-1-1, 2.55 GAA, .898 SV%) vs. Philipp Grubauer (20-7-0, 1.69 GAA, .931 SV%, 5 SO)
Lehner enters on a three-game win streak, including 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .927 SV% in two starts since returning after a six-week absence due to injury.
This will be his first appearance against the Avalanche this season. He was 1-1-0 with a dismal 5.59 GAA and .822 SV% in two appearances vs. COL last season.
Grubauer is looking very Vezina-like this season. He reached 20 victories in a 5-1 win over Vegas in the front end of the back-to-back set, and he already has a career-high for NHL wins in a single season.
Grubauer has allowed one or no goals in seven consecutive starts and eight straight appearances, all victories. He is 3-2-0 with a 1.81 GAA and .930 SV% in his five starts against Vegas this season.
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Golden Knights at Avalanche: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Avalanche 4, Golden Knights 3
Money line (ML)
The AVALANCHE (-175) are a little pricy for my liking, especially against another strong team like the Golden Knights (+150).
However, Colorado handled Vegas 5-1 in the front end of the set, and Grubauer is playing absolutely out of his mind lately.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The GOLDEN KNIGHTS +1.5 (-190) are slightly over my personal limit of -180 for bets, but sometimes limits are made to be broken. Vegas was embarrassed in the first game of the set, so you know VGK will come back with a vengeance in this one.
They might not be able to sack Grubauer, who is on quite the roll, but they should be able to produce a much better showing than Thursday.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 5.5 (-115) is risky business with Grubauer playing the best hockey of his career. While Colorado allows just 2.3 goals per game, the offense has rolled up 3.5 goals per game to rank second in the NHL.
And Vegas has scored 3.3 goals per game to check in seventh in the league, while their power play has been on the come lately after a rough start to the campaign.
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