The Vancouver Canucks avoided elimination in its second round series on Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Edmonton. Vancouver was outshot 43-17, but goalkeeper Thatcher Demko put together an incredible performance in his first ever start in the NHL Playoffs.
According to Sportsnet Stats, Thatcher is the first rookie goalkeeper since Jose Theodore in 1997 to win his NHL playoff debut when facing elimination. Demko was placed into the starting lineup because of an injury to goalkeeper Jacob Markstrom. Demko finished the night with 42 saves.
It remains to be seen whether Demko or Markstrom will start at goalkeeper for Game 6.
Vancouver’s Elias Peterson added the game-winning goal 3:19 into the third period to give the Canucks a 2-1 lead they were able to hold onto the rest of the game.
Vancouver’s win in Game 5 was an improbable one as the Canucks came into the matchup at +195 on the moneyline as fairly significant underdogs, according to a popular United States sportsbook. Can the Canucks do it again on Thursday night?
Game 6 will begin at 9:45 p.m. ET. With a win on Thursday, Vancouver will force a Game 7 to be played on Friday night with a spot in the Western Conference final against the winner of the series between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. The Stars and Avalanche are headed to a Game 7 matchup on Friday.
Below is all the sports betting information you need to get ready for the Canucks and Golden Knights in Game 6.
Game 6 Primer
Puck line
- Vegas Golden Knights -1.5 (+117)
- Vancouver Canucks +1.5 (-139)
While Vancouver will be heading into Game 6 as the underdog, oddsmakers suggest there’s a good chance the Canucks will keep the margin of victory under 1.5 goals. Whoever starts at goalkeeper for Vancouver, whether it’s Thatcher or Markstrom, will need to put together a similar performance to what Thatcher did on Tuesday night for the Canucks to get to a Game 7 scenario.
Total goals
- Over 6 (-108)
- Under 6 (-113)
Oddsmakers believe this game will end up somewhere around six goals, which makes sense considering the history of this playoff series. In five games, the final score surpassed six total goals twice, while it failed to reach that number three times. Will it even out with a high-scoring matchup after a 2-1 final score on Tuesday?
Moneyline
- Vegas Golden Knights -240
- Vancouver Canucks +200
As these numbers suggest, the Canucks are fairly significant underdogs heading into Game 6 with slightly worse odds than Game 5’s moneyline numbers.
Series line
- Vegas Golden Knights -1000
- Vancouver Canucks +650
As you could imagine, the Canucks are very heavy underdogs to win the series. A $100 bet on Vancouver would result in a $650 profit, while a $1,000 wager would result in a $100 profit for bettors looking to place action on Vegas winning the series.
Western Conference finals odds
- Vegas Golden Knights -132
- Colorado Avalanche +250
- Dallas Stars +440
- Vancouver Canucks +2000
Oddsmakers are suggesting the Golden Knights have a much better chance than any team in the Western Conference to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. Betting on Colorado or Dallas would be a bit of a risk since both are one loss away from elimination before the Western Conference finals even begin. Vancouver would be a major longshot to win its series against the Golden Knights and follow it up with a win over the Avalanche or Stars.
Stanley Cup Finals odds
- Tampa Bay Lightning +195
- Vegas Golden Knights +215
- Colorado Avalanche +550
- New York Islanders +625
- Dallas Stars +1150
- Philadelphia Flyers +1500
- Vancouver Canucks +5000
The Tampa Bay Lightning are slight favorites over the Vegas Golden Knights to win this year’s Stanley Cup. A $100 bet on Vancouver to win it all would result in a $5,000 payday if the Canucks were able to pull a magical run to a Stanley Cup title.
