Vegas Golden Knights vs. Carolina Hurricanes Game 2 Prediction, NHL Odds
But Carolina is a -160 favourite on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5 goals.
Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes NHL Betting Odds
We saw history in Vegas’ 5-4 win at Carolina in Game 1 on Tuesday night as it marked only the second Game 1 of a Stanley Cup Final to feature a goal scored in the opening 90 seconds of all three periods. It also happened in 1943 between Detroit and Boston.
The Knights rallied from an early 2-0 hole Tuesday to become the first road team in league history to stage a multi-goal comeback win in Game 1 of the Final. There have been five previous occasions this century where the Final has had a comeback win in each of the first two games of the series and last in 2025 between Edmonton and Florida (they split the two).
Vegas is now -155 on the series line with Carolina at +130. At -1.5 games on the series spread, the Knights are +115, while the Hurricanes are -140 at +1.5 games – and I’d take that. The over-under for total games is 5.5, and I’m leaning over but it’s pricy at -220. Carolina in seven remains the favourite but now +380. It is my pick, but obviously the Hurricanes better win Thursday.
Teams that take a 2-0 series lead in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final own an all-time record of 50-5, including 10-2 when starting on the road. When a Final is tied at 1-1, the team that begins the series at home holds an overall series mark of 20-11.
Vegas Golden Knights
There was some thought the Golden Knights might be rusty entering Game 1 considering they finished a sweep of the West Finals a week prior, and Vegas did find itself down 2-0 midway through the first on Tuesday before taking control for its team-record seventh straight playoff win. And the Knights did it with only a combined two assists from star forwards Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel. Marner, the former Maple Leaf, still leads these playoffs with 22 points and is the -110 Conn Smythe Trophy favourite. It was forward Tomas Hertl with the game-winner at 16:36 of the third in the 5-4 win. Vegas’ blueliners were the true stars as Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb each had three points to become the first defensive teammates Stanley Cup Final history to each record three points in Game 1 and just the third to do so in any Final game. In all Game 2s in a best-of-seven series, Vegas is 11-10 and 4-1 on the road. In series they lead 1-0, the Knights are 11-3 and 1-1 when starting away.
Carolina Hurricanes
If you would have told me that Carolina was going to be up 2-0 midway through the first period of Game 1 at home and would finish with four goals scored, well, I might have wagered a dangerous amount on it to win. But the Canes fell to 10-2 when scoring first in these playoffs as former Maple Leaf Frederik Andersen didn’t have it in net, stopping 18 of 23 shots. He was trying to become the first netminder in Stanley Cup playoff history to record 13 wins in his first 14 games of a postseason. But the Dane also struggled in Game 1 of the last round vs. Montreal and then was dominant. There is no consideration as of yet to go to rookie Brandon Bussi as he hasn’t played a minute this postseason. Nikolai Ehlers had two goals for Carolina but team playoff leading scorer Taylor Hall (16 points) was without a point. So were fellow top forwards Sebastian Aho, Jackson Blake, Logan Stankoven and Andrei Svechnikov. In all Game 2s in a best-of-seven series, Carolina is 21-18 and 17-5 at home. In a series they trail 1-0, the Hurricanes are 7-12 and 4-4 when starting it at home. The Hurricanes haven’t lost back-to-back games overall since mid-January and should even things up Thursday.
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