Vegas Golden Knights vs. Anaheim Ducks Game 3 Prediction, NHL Odds
Anaheim earned a split in Vegas earlier in the week, outperforming Vegas in each of the two battles and getting rewarded only in Game 2 via a 3-1 victory. Home ice advantage now goes the Ducks way as they have three home games to go in a now best-of-five series.
Being at home has been key for the Ducks too, who went a perfect 3-0 on home ice last round versus Edmonton. Vegas won two of their three road games last round, but got ran out of the building in Game 3; it’s certainly an area this experienced Golden Knights club will look to improve as this pivotal Friday matchup arrives.
Puck drop at the Honda Center goes at 9:30 p.m. EDT with the NHL oddsmakers listing this game as a pick’em, with the over-under at six.
Golden Knights vs. Ducks NHL Betting Odds
The under is 2-0 through the first two games in the series. It’s been without a sweat too as both teams have exchanged 3-1 wins. Vegas has yet to break through on the offensive side as they’ve registered 22 shots in each of this series’ first two games, which is quite the switch-up from their regular season average of 29 shots per game. Anaheim ranked third in the NHL with 30.8 shots per game, and they’re right at that number so far this series.
Anaheim enters Game 3 having won four of their last five home outings, and five of their last seven times hosting Vegas. The Ducks are +145 to advance with Vegas at -175 odds. If you like this series to go the distance, you can get seven total games played in this series at +160.
Vegas Golden Knights
Carter Hart is doing everything in net to give the Golden Knights a chance, but he’s not getting the offensive support. Hart has turned away 58 of 61 shots faced through two games and now has a .912 save percentage in eight post-season starts. Five penalties for the Golden Knights certainly hampered any offensive flow for Vegas, but on the bright side they were a perfect five-for-five on the kill in Game 2.
The insertion of veteran forward William Karlsson to this series has yet to pay off as he’s pointless through two games. Mark Stone broke a five-game score-less streak in Game 2 but the Golden Knights still need more depth scoring. Pavel Dorofeyev has scored in just two of Vegas’ eight playoff games, while Jack Eichel is still sitting on one goal in the playoffs.
Anaheim Ducks
The moment has yet to get to big for Leo Carlsson. The 2023 second-overall pick netted the game-winning goal in Wednesday’s win at Vegas and leads all Ducks forwards with nine points in the playoffs. 20-year-old Beckett Sennecke scored the game’s opening goal in a win that saw Anaheim’s kids deliver. Head coach Joel Quenneville deserves a ton of credit for the Ducks’ play too, as his team didn’t collapse after being on the wrong of a call that swung Game 1.
Lukas Dostal was five seconds away from his first shutout of the season, but still turned away 21 of 22 shots faced in Game 2. Dostal’s strung together a trio of games with a save percentage above .900 and this is key for the Ducks. If they get strong goaltending, this young Anaheim offence should be able to score their way to victory regardless of the opponent.
