On Sports Betting: Vegas Golden Knights Stumble, Then Regain Their Momentum
By Daniel Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
The Vegas Golden Knights, more popular than cherry Sno-Cones in July, appeared to hold the upper hand going into Game 2 against the Vancouver Canucks.
They were fresh off a 5-0 whitewash of the Vancouver team in Game 1. They were cracking jokes and making wisecracks. And they were, as always, the darlings of social media.
Their popularity drove the betting price as high as -240 in some locales before settling at around -220.
The problem was that no one told the Vancouver team. The feisty Canucks responded to the loss in Game 1 with two goals in the first period, one in the second and two more in the third en route to a 5-2 blitzing of the Golden Knights.
“We were a little late, a little slow, a little soft,” Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said after the game.
And Golden Knights backers were a little broke.
The Vancouver team paid about +180.
On the same day the Las Vegas Aces continued their solid play with a 96-92 win over the Dallas Wings. It moved their record to 11-2 since the restart, but it was the Wings at +9 that rewarded bettors with the cover.
By Thursday, the Golden Knights seemed primed for a rebound against the Canucks. The price had drifted down, too, to the -200 range.
However, the NHL postponed four playoff games over two days. The decision to postpone two sets of second-round games Thursday and Friday was prompted by the threats from the Golden Knights and Canucks to sit out Game 3 of their series, The Associated Press reported. Criticism from Black players accusing the NHL of being slow to acknowledge the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin was also a factor, the news service reported.
The Las Vegas Aces’ game vs. the Seattle Storm on Thursday was similarly postponed because of player concerns over racial injustice.
Play resumed on Saturday for the Golden Knights, who closed at around -210 for the game. It seemed like an opportune time for the local team to rebound, and we joined the sharps and squares and laid the chalk. Savvy bettors will often split their bet between the money line and the puck line and hope to win both wagers. But we just rode along and watched the VGK defeat the Canucks, 3-0, as goalie Robin Lehner notched his second career playoff shutout and the second of the series.
The Aces were also back in action on Saturday and rolled to an 80-63 win over the New York Liberty. The Aces closed the game by outscoring the Liberty, 24-7, in the fourth quarter. But bettors need all of that spurt to gain a push with the Aces who were -17 for the game.
The win pushed the Aces’ record to 12-2 since the restart. They are now 9-4-1 ATS.
They next play the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday.
Late Sunday, the Golden Knights beat the Canucks again, scoring three times in the third period for a 5-3 victory. After no lead changes in the first three games of the series, this game saw two lead changes.
“It was a strange game,” DeBoer told reporters after the game.
VGK bettors paid about -195 for a ticket and about +135 on the puck line.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is on Tuesday.
Elsewhere:
— Aleksandar Rakic prevailed by unanimous decision over Anthony Smith in the light heavyweight main event at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Rakic was a heavy favorite, in the -290 range.
This Saturday, Alistair Overeem faces Augusto Sakai in the heavyweight main event at the UFC Apex facility in southwest Las Vegas. Overeem opened at -196, according to Covers.com, with Sakai +164.
— The Kentucky Derby is also on the calendar for Saturday. The traditional Run for the Roses was postponed in May with virtually everything else because of the new coronavirus.
The heavy favorite, at 4-5 at William Hill, is Tiz the Law. The New York-bred 3-year-old is unbeaten in four starts this year, including the June 20 running of the Belmont, which kicked off the altered Triple Crown lineup.
— Through six games, the Utah Jazz-Denver Nuggets NBA series has gone over the total five times. Game 7 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday.
