In this article, we’ll outline our best Golden Knights vs Hurricanes prediction for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, as well as the relevant betting notes for both teams, so you can place a winning wager with any of the best NHL betting sites.
The Stanley Cup Final started with a bang, as Game 1 was a back-and-forth barnburner that went down the wire. The Golden Knights became the first road team in NHL history to win Game 1 of the Final after facing a multi-goal deficit, winning their seventh consecutive game in the process. Teams that win Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final have gone on to win the series 76.4% of the time historically, and the Knights are now priced at -155 to win the series.
We were particularly pleased to enjoy the high-scoring thriller given our Game 1 write-up on Over 5.5 total goals, and we are excited to outline our best bet for a pivotal Game 2 below.
Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes Game 2 Prediction: Frederik Andersen Under 21.5 Saves: -130 (Play to -135)
Andersen under 21.5 saves
During their seven-game winning streak, the Golden Knights are leaning into a quality-over-quantity approach offensively. They have scored on 15.04% of shots during that span and generated 25.87 shots per 60. If you review the majority of Vegas’s goals in those games, most have been looks where generally the goaltender would not be deemed to be at fault.
Frederik Andersen stopped just 18 of 23 shots faced in the series opener, but if anything, Ivan Barbashev’s goal from the high slot was the only goal that could arguably be expected to be saved but would still likely not have garnered a second look if not for the fact that Andersen finished with such an ugly stat line.
Aside from in Round 1 versus the Senators, it’s hard to feel confident in saying Andersen’s play has been as sharp as his statistics suggest. A huge reason for his sparkling GAA has been the team’s defensive performance, but on true Grade “A” scoring chances he’s felt to be fairly average this postseason.
This bet isn’t purely a fade on Andersen, but we don’t mind that he doesn’t feel to be overly dominant. But it is still more so a bet on the Hurricanes to shelter him quite effectively in Game 2 of the series and bounce back with a better defensive showing, just as we saw in the Eastern Conference Final versus Montreal.
Andersen has averaged 16.1 saves per game over the last eight matchups. He’s come in under this line in nine of 14 playoff games, and two of the games where he went over went to overtime. While Vegas is the best team that Carolina has faced, it still is not a team that generates significantly more shot volume than Carolina’s previous opponents, and this feels like a good spot to back a desperate Hurricanes side limiting the amount of looks coming Andersen’s way as our Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes Game 2 prediction.
Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes Odds
| Golden Knights Moneyline Odds | (+135) |
| Hurricanes Moneyline Odds | (-160) |
| Puck Line Odds | Golden Knights +1.5 (-190) Hurricanes -1.5 (+160) |
| Series Winner Odds | Golden Knights (-155), Hurricanes (+130) |
| Goal Total | Over 6 Goals (+100), Under 6 Goals (-120) |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
Betting Vegas Golden Knights
The Knights did a good job of exposing the flaws within Carolina’s man-to-man defensive zone system in Game 1, which was an angle we were hoping to see when outlining our pick on the over.
Carolina’s defensive zone system can lead to a tendency to give up extremely dangerous looks when every skater’s reads are not entirely on point. Four of Vegas’s five goals came off a pass into a very threatening area of the ice, finding a skater who had shaken loose from man coverage and earned an ultra-threatening chance as a result.
Given the pace and overall aggressiveness that the Hurricanes consistently play with, it may not be entirely realistic for any team to take it to them shift-after-shift, but the Knights may have the high-end skill to continue making the most of the offensive zone possession that they are able to generate.
Though Andersen’s stat line wasn’t remotely good, Vegas did generate 4.06 expected goals for in Round 1, a mark that seems fair reviewing the actual quality of Vegas’s chances.
Though it wasn’t a banner night for Carter Hart and the Knights defensively, they did make less full-fledged defensive breakdowns than the Hurricanes and were rewarded with the win as a result.
The Knights allowed three breakaways, which was the main concern defensively, but their structure inside the defensive zone was respectable. Vegas allowed 28 shots on goal, but just eight high-danger chances.
As will likely be the case throughout the majority of the series, Carolina did have more offensive zone time, but the Knights did a reasonably good job of protecting the key areas of the ice during sustained stretches of play in the defensive zone, and counter punched effectively at the other end of the ice.
With an important primary assist on Wiliam Karlsson’s go-ahead marker in the second and an important block in the dying seconds of regulation, Mitch Marner furthered his lead in the Conn Smythe race and is now the betting favourite at -115.
With a +6.1 GSAx and .919 save percentage, there is a pretty strong case that Carter Hart has, at a minimum, been the second most important Knights player, but it is important to consider that some voters will not be willing to vote for him, which is likely the reason he’s up at +2800 to win the Conn Smythe.
Betting Carolina Hurricanes
In many regards, the Hurricanes’ Game 1 loss felt similar to their series-opening loss versus Montreal, though altogether the team was not nearly as sloppy, and the result felt to have a little more to do with strengths from the Knights’ approach.
Carolina was not as sloppy in terms of its defensive reads in the neutral zone and in transition as in Game 1 versus Montreal, but it’s defensive zone coverage was a huge concern and forced Andersen to try and handle some extremely threatening looks.
You’d have to imagine the bulk of Tuesday’s practice and film session was based on sharpening up defensive zone reads to try and allow the strengths from Carolina’s Game 1 performance to hold greater weight in Game 2.
Entering the series, one of the Knights’ greatest advantages on paper was their trio of elite forwards in Jack Eichel, Marner and Mark Stone, with Eichel and Marner both undoubtedly the best two forwards in the series. Carolina’s top trio of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov did not have a good showing in Game 1, and that perceived weakness did come to fruition.
While the lapses in Carolina’s coverage were clear in Game 1, there were still plenty of spells of play in which you could see the team’s ability to heavily control the play shift-after-shift. It has played to a 62.27% expected goals share this postseason, one of the best marks in recent memory, and though Vegas was a deserving winner, it doesn’t feel as though Carolina is in big trouble just yet.
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