The NHL Western Conference Finals of 2023 have entered the business end of series as the Vegas Golden Knight look to seal their place in the next round when they face Dallas Stars.
The Knights lead the series 3-2 heading into this game but had a 3-0 lead at one point, and the Stars will be the home team when they meet at the American Airlines Center on Monday night. The winner will get the opportunity to move on to the Stanley Cup finals to face off against the Florida Panthers, who won their Eastern Conference finals with a 4-0 sweep over the Carolina Hurricanes.
We'll take a look at the series so far and provide you with our best free NHL picks for the game to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you watch some high-level hockey action.
| NHL Western Conference Finals |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegas Golden Knights | +110 | +110 | +104 |
| Dallas Stars | -121 | -130 | -127 |
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Vegas Golden Knights v Dallas Stars information
- Monday, May 29th 2023
- American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
- 20:00 ET start
- Western Conference Finals
- Vegas Golden Knights lead series 3-2
NHL Western Conference Finals Series So Far
Game 1 was a sign of things to come in this series as the Knights claimed an impressive 4-3 win over Dallas in overtime to take a 1-0 lead. William Karlsson scored two goals in the game to lead his team to victory, while Zach Whitecloud registered two assists in the game. Theodor Blueger and Brett Howden also got on the scoresheet for Vegas, while Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson and Jamie Benn netted for Dallas.
We then headed to overtime once again in Game 2 as the Knights managed to edge a win at the T-Mobile Arena. Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone got the three goals for Vegas, with Miro Heiskanen and Robertson netting for the Stars as Ryan Suter grabbed two assists.
Game 3 was a total shutout though as the series headed to Dallas for the first time, with the Golden Knights blowing the Stars out of the water in the first period. Ivan Barbashev had a fantastic game with one goal and two assists, to add to goals from William Carrier, Marchessault and Alex Pietrangelo in a stunning 4-0 win.
But Dallas seemed to wake themselves up in Game 4, when the game was forced into overtime for a third time but this time it was them who found the winning goal that was needed to keep the series alive.
Robertson found the net twice more and Joe Pavelski added to it to keep their dreams alive, but Vegas continued to show that they're a threat as Marchessault and Karlsson scored too to ensure they weren't written off.
Then in Game 5 Dallas put together a strong third period to win yet again, claiming a strong 4-2 win at the T-Mobile Arena. Barbashev and Stephenson's goals for Dallas were cancelled out by Ty Dellandrea scoring twice, before Luke Glendening and Robertson came alive and forced this Game 6 at home.
NHL Picks: Golden Knights to win
So far this season it has been a winning parade for Vegas for the most part, losing just three games in-a-row twice all year. And while the playoffs have a habit of making those small issues larger than they seem to be, the Golden Knights have only lost twice on the road during the post-season too.
Add to that the fact that they managed to seal their progress into these conference finals with a win on the road in Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers, all things point towards them getting it done once again.
Oettinger has been a different goaltender on home ice vs the road in these playoffs, and Stars forward Jason Robertson continues to heat up. But the Golden Knights should find a way to close out the Stars and they're great value on the moneyline to get it done.
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NHL Picks: Under 5.5 goals
The Under is 3-2 in this series, and only one of the three one-goal games has triggered the Over. This looks like a banker on paper and is our most favored pick for this game.
Tensions should be high, since the home crowd could watch the Stars’ season end at the end of it and it would be crazy to expect anything other than both coaches wanting to play tight, structured defense.
The Golden Knights have played that way much of the season, and as referenced above, Oettinger has a .922 save percentage, 2.36 goals-against average, and 5.4 goals-saved above average at all situations. Those numbers could be the difference in this landing or not.
As long as Hill is mentally strong, after allowing a couple of iffy goals in Game 5, the Under should be in good shape and you'd be silly to bet on anything but considering the way this series has gone so far.
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