The Vegas Golden Knights are now the Stanley Cup favorites after they beat the Carolina Hurricanes on the road in Game 1.
In what was an absolute thriller of a game, the Golden Knights took Game 1 with a 5-4 victory after Tomas Hertl broke a tie game late in the third period.
The Golden Knights now have a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals and are now three wins away from winning the second cup in franchise history, just three years after winning their first.
Golden Knights Favored to Win Stanley Cup Now
Heading into this series, the Hurricanes were favored to win the Stanley Cup. But after the Golden Knights upset Carolina on the road in Game 1, the betting odds have flipped.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Golden Knights are now -150 favorites to capture the Stanley Cup, while the Hurricanes are +125 betting underdogs.
The Hurricanes had home-ice advantage heading into the series, but after Vegas stole Game 1 on the road, they took that home-ice edge away, and so the oddsmakers had to adjust the betting odds for the series.
If you had bet on the Golden Knights as the betting underdogs before the series began, you could now bet on the Hurricanes as the underdogs, and you would be able to essentially win the difference with no sweat on your back.
If you bet on the Hurricanes, however, you are starting to sweat a bit after they coughed up home-ice advantage with the Game 1 loss despite Nikolaj Ehlers scoring just 25 seconds into the game. Somehow, though, the Golden Knights stuck with it and managed to squeak out the win.
Game 2 is a Must-Win Game for Carolina
It goes without saying that Game 2, which takes place on Thursday in Raleigh, is a must-win game for the Hurricanes, because if they lose and go down 0-2, they will have to head to Vegas potentially with their season on the line.
So far during these playoffs, the Hurricanes have not lost two games in a row, as they were 12-1 heading into this Game 1 loss to the Golden Knights. During the regular season, the Hurricanes only had three two-game losing skids, plus two three-game losing skids, so they are very much used to winning.
In fact, the last time the Hurricanes lost two games in a row was back in January, when they lost to the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues on January 12 and 13, respectively. In the five months since then, they have not experienced two losses in a row, so the odds are in their favor to bounce back in Game 2 at home.
That being said, the Golden Knights have been red hot during this postseason, as they have won seven straight games. They also beat the Hurricanes in both games that the two teams played during the regular season, so they seem to have Carolina’s number.
But this series is far from over. Both Carolina and Vegas are terrific hockey clubs, and this series could very well go down to the wire as both teams want to win the Stanley Cup badly.
Golden Knights Now Favored to Win Cup After Big Game 1 Win