NHL Picks & Predictions: Golden Knights vs. Avalanche (Wednesday)
We're onto the Conference Finals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and it'll be the Vegas Golden Knights (0-0) and the Colorado Avalanche (0-0) getting the action started on Wednesday night. Colorado remains the Stanley Cup favorite at +135, and they're a sizable -300 favorite to win the Western Conference Final. Vegas is priced at +600 and +220 in those respective markets.
Below, I'll lay out the betting market for Game 1, touch on the key statistics and trends, and dive into my top wager for Wednesday's standalone game in the NHL. Here's my favorite bet for Game 1 between the Golden Knights and the Avalanche.
Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver, CO.
Wednesday's Best NHL Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of Hard Rock Bet)
Vegas Golden Knights (+155) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-185) | 6.5 (+100/-120)
The Avalanche are sizable -185 moneyline favorites in Game 1, while the Golden Knights come back at +155 to knock off the Stanley Cup favorites. Colorado went 2-0-1 against Vegas (1-1-1) during the regular season, with the average matchup featuring 7.3 combined goals. With that being said, only one of the games cleared the 6.5-goal total that we have in tonight's contest.
I'm going to play the under while I can grab it at the lofty number of 6.5 goals. Dating back to last season, the under is 4-1 in the last five meetings between the clubs. It's 6-3 in their last nine meetings in Denver. Vegas is also on a 4-2 run to the under in its last six games overall.
Let's start with the goaltending. We should see Scott Wedgewood between the pipes for the Avs, and he's coming off a 2025-26 campaign where he led the NHL in GAA (2.02) and SV% (.921). Those numbers have held steady throughout the playoffs, with the journeyman goaltender logging a 2.21 GAA and a .914 SV%.
Meanwhile, Carter Hart continues his impressive run in net for Vegas. The 27-year-old Albertan is 8-4-0 this postseason with a 2.37 GAA and a .917 SV%.
One big factor that has aided Hart is the penalty-killing group in front of him, which has gone 33-for-38 (86.84 percent) this postseason. The Knights finished the regular season ranked seventh on the PK (81.37 percent), while the Avs were first (84.62 percent).
During 5-on-5 play, the Avalanche are conceding 2.2 high-danger shots on goal per game in the postseason. The Knights have posted a mark of 2.3. In terms of expected goals against per 60 minutes, Colorado is third (2.01) while Vegas is 13th (2.48).
Ultimately, these are a couple of experienced, well-coached teams that are familiar with one another. The goaltenders are in elite form, and we also have decent head-to-head data suggesting that goals will be tough to come by. I'll jump on the under, predicting a final score in the 3-2 or 4-2 range.
Bet: Under 6.5 Goals (-120)