Colorado Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights Game 4 Prediction, NHL Playoff Odds

The Vegas Golden Knights can complete the sweep of this season’s Western Conference Final and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in their brief existence when they host the beleaguered Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night in Game 4 at T-Mobile Arena.

The Golden Knights erased an early 3-0 deficit to claim a 5-3 victory in Game 3 and ride a commanding 3-0 series into Tuesday’s contest. The Avalanche look to avoid getting swept in the postseason for the first time in 18 years, but must do so with their two biggest stars, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, hobbled by injury.

Despite enduring injury woes and a sputtering offence, the Avalanche have managed to maintain a razor-thin edge on the Game 4 odds as a -115 bet, but have tumbled to +700 longshots on the NHL series price. The Golden Knights are pegged as a -105 wager in Game 4, but have vaulted to a -1111 bet to eventually win the series. The total in Tuesday’s matchup is pegged at 6.0.

Avalanche vs. Golden Knights NHL Betting Odds

It looked as if the Avalanche might be poised to get back into this series after they soared to an early 3-0 lead while recorded 16 shots in the first period of Game 3. But it was all downhill from there, as the Golden Knights seized the momentum steadily chipped away at that advantage while the Avalanche faded.

Vegas has now scored 4+ goals three times in its past four games and seven times in total this spring, but with the Avs attack running hot and cold, the OVER/UNDER has gone 1-1-1 in the series, with the UNDER going 3-1-1 in the Golden Knights’ past five outings.

Vegas has also established itself as a challenger for the top of the Stanley Cup odds as a +145 bet, while the Avalanche have plummeted to the bottom of the odds board as +1500 long shots.

Colorado Avalanche

With Cale Makar already dealing with what is suspected to be a shoulder injury, the Avs’ health woes deepened in the second period of Sunday’s game, when Nathan MacKinnon suffered an apparent knee injury that forced him to leave the game until midway through the final frame.

While head coach Jared Bednar has tried to downplay the severity of the injury, it has become apparent that MacKinnon is likely to be used sparingly at best, leaving a massive hole in a Colorado attack that has averaged just two goals per game in the series, and scored just four total goals at even strength through Game 3.

If MacKinnon is unable to play a regular shift, the club will look to some veteran skaters to fill the void. Martin Necas currently ranks second on the team with 11 points but has scored just once. Nazem Kadri has cracked the scoresheet in two straight contests, but has mustered just three playoff goals and just five total goals since rejoining the Avs at the trade deadline.

Gabriel Landeskog has emerged as a workhorse for the club, averaging almost 23 minutes over the past four contests, but the Avs captain’s production has been spotty, with just one goal and one helper over the past five games.

Vegas Golden Knights

Carter Hart endured his toughest period of the postseason in Sunday’s opening frame, allowing three goals on 16 shots, but stopped the remaining 19 shotes he faced to give the Golden knights a chance to pull off the comeback.

Hart has now stopped 98 of 104 shots faced in this series, and considering the negative fallout he has endured in the wake of his recent legal woes, the 27-year-old netminder should be highly motivated to silence his detractors with another mammoth performance on Tuesday.

Ditto for Mitch Marner, who would love nothing more than to silence the haters who enjoyed seeing his days as a Toronto Maple Leaf end last summer. Marner leads the club with seven goals and 21 points including a pair of timely assists in Game 3, and his sparkling playoff performance has lifted him to the top of the Conn Smythe Trophy odds as +180 chalk.