In this article, we’ll outline our best Golden Knights vs Ducks prediction for Game 6, as well as the relevant betting notes for both teams.
Anaheim gave Vegas all it could handle once again in Game 5, but ultimately suffered a painful loss in a game that could have gone either way. This series has mainly been quite evenly contested, so it’s no surprise to see that as the series shifts back to Anaheim with the Knights leading 3-2, and with Mark Stone and Brayden McNabb unavailable to play, oddsmakers considered this game to be a toss-up.
Golden Knights vs Ducks Game 6 prediction
Pavel Dorofeyev Over 2.5 Shots on Goal -130 (Play to -135)
Dorofeyev over 2.5 SOG
Dorofeyev has come alive with three goals from 10 shot attempts over the previous two games, and this feels like a good spot to keep buying on the Knights’ top finishing threat as he remains alongside two high-quality play drivers in Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev.
The Eichel-Barbashev-Dorofeyev line skated together at 13:05 in Game 5, and held a 58.5% expected goals while generating 17 shot attempts. Dorofeyev has not spent much time alongside Eichel and Barbashev this season, but with the way that Eichel and Barbashev are going, he should likely continue to receive lots of chances to use his lethal shot with Mark Stone out of the lineup.
Dorofeyev’s one-timer will also always remain the top Knight’s top power-play unit’s preferred look, and the top unit has done a fairly good job of setting up its top-scoring threat thus far in the series.
Dorofeyev is an elite scorer who’s found his touch of late and seems likely to keep pouring chances toward goal in this matchup, and a price of -130 for him to record three shots looks to provide value.
From a sides perspective, this game looks right to be priced as a pick’em, but backing the Ducks to win the series at +350 would be our preferred option in terms of backing either team, as the Ducks’ chances of finding success on the road in a high pressure Game 7 seem to be underrated.
Golden Knights vs Ducks Odds
| Golden Knights moneyline odds | -115 |
| Ducks moneyline odds | -105 |
| Puck Line odds | Golden Knights -1.5 (+210), Ducks +1.5 (-260) |
| Series odds | Golden Knights (-450), Ducks (-350) |
| Game total | Over 6 goals (-120), Under 6 (+100) |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
Betting Vegas Golden Knights
In many regards, this series has looked comparable to the Knights’ opening-round matchup versus the Utah Mammoth. The Ducks were able to dictate play effectively early on in the series, but the physical and methodical Knights have seemingly started to wear them down to some extent, after being somewhat fortunate to earn a split in the first two games of the series.
The Knights have played to a 49.47% expected goal share at even strength in the series. At times they have exposed Anaheim’s shaky defensive zone coverage and have made fewer mistakes in key areas of the ice, but Anaheim has done a fairly good job of taking the play to the Knights in a series where they were considered heavy underdogs.
Carter Hart has had a strong series in goal and altogether a solid postseason after looking to be a massive weakness early on in Round 1. He now holds a +1.3 GSAx and .909 save percentage this postseason and has outperformed his counterpart Lukas Dostal in the series.
Vegas led 18-14 in high-danger scoring chances in Game 5 on home ice and leaned on another solid performance from Hart to help earn the result in what was a very evenly contested matchup.
The Knights now hold a record of 8-11-5 with Mark Stone out of the lineup this season. His impact still will likely prove hard to replace, specifically if Vegas is to move on to face a stacked Colorado Avalanche side, but having William Karlsson back in the lineup, and with Tomas Hertl finally back chipping in some offence, it makes the task of succeeding without Stone a little more reasonable.
With Stone sidelined, the Knights mainly used a top line of Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, and Pavel Dorofeyev. Across 13:05 in Game 5, the unit played to an expected goal share of 58.5%, outshot the Ducks 9-5, and came through with the overtime winner thanks to a pretty finish from Dorofeyev.
Brayden McNabb will miss this matchup as he serves his one-game suspension. McNabb is a quality shutdown option that had been skating on the top pairing alongside Shea Theodore, and his loss is meaningful from a handicapping perspective. At Thursday morning’s skate, Dylan Coghlan skated in McNabb’s spot on the top unit.
Betting Anaheim Ducks
Whether the Ducks are ultimately able to claw back and steal this series or not, they were right there with the Knights and the overall postseason performance from a developing young side has been quite impressive and was not expected.
Anaheim gave itself a legitimate chance to win every game in this series except for Game 3, and though it ultimately was a losing bet, we’re not overly embarrassed by our selection on the Ducks to win Game 5 on the road as heavy underdogs.
The Ducks have shot just 6.77% at even strength in the series, but their overall process has looked respectable, and is often the case this time of year, their losses have generally been quite marginal. They were obviously very deserving winners in Round 1 over the Edmonton Oilers, and most of their key young pieces have made strong postseason debuts.
As we touched on ahead of Game 4, Joel Quenneville continues to deserve a lot of credit for the way development his young side has shown year-over-year, particularly defensively this postseason.
Quenneville’s work would likely be getting even more credit if Lukas Dostal had performed at the same level this season as he did in 2024-25, when he was one of the best goaltenders in the league playing behind what was a horrific defensive team. He holds an .889 save percentage over the previous two games and has not let in any overly soft goals, but he has still struggled to play to his ceiling this season.
While Quenneville’s work with the Ducks this season certainly deserves praise, one potential misstep might be opting to scratch Olen Zellweger for the majority of the postseason. Zellweger played 16:33 in Game 5 and was ultimately rewarded for a solid performance by scoring the game-tying goal.
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