Knights will be underdogs to Tampa Bay, favorites vs. Washington
From 500-1 long shots to win the Stanley Cup to Western Conference champions, the Golden Knights’ group of castoffs and misfits has one final chapter left to write in the most astonishing underdog tale seen on ice since the U.S. stunned Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
“That’s the only thing I can compare it to,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said of the “Miracle on Ice.” “You’re talking about a team that was projected to have 70 points and the first pick in the draft.
“These are guys other teams didn’t want. And their coach (Gerard Gallant) was let go with a winning record.”
The expansion Knights continued to defy the odds in their inaugural season Sunday by winning 2-1 at Winnipeg as plus 130 underdogs to eliminate the Jets in five games in the Western Conference Final.
The Knights will face either the Tampa Bay Lightning or the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final. Tampa Bay has a 3-2 series lead over Washington, which will host the Lightning on Monday in Game 6.
The Knights, who went 2-0 against each team in the regular season, are projected to be underdogs in a matchup with Tampa Bay and favorites against Washington.
Esposito projects Tampa Bay to be a minus 140 series favorite while Westgate sports book manager Jeff Sherman has the Lightning as a minus 150 favorite.
If the Capitals advance, the Knights will have home-ice advantage. Sherman projects the Knights to be minus 140 favorites over Washington and Esposito has them at minus 160.
“Give or take 10 cents each way,” Sherman said. “A big reflection of the series price is the extra game at home. Tampa Bay would have home ice over Vegas and most of the year they’ve been one of our top power-rated teams.
“If Tampa was (minus) 135 at home in the series, they would be considered equal teams.”
The Knights beat the Lightning 4-3 at home Dec. 19 and 4-1 at Tampa on Jan. 18. They beat the Capitals 3-0 at home Dec. 23 and 4-3 at Washington on Feb. 4.
“(The Knights) match up well with Tampa. They’re a big team, too, and fast. And some of their players got a taste of the Stanley Cup Final against the Blackhawks in 2015,” Esposito said. “If Washington is able to get there, (Alex) Ovechkin can finally say he exorcised the demons and beat the Penguins. And then he’ll look up and see Marc-Andre Fleury.
“The amazing thing is Fleury is the only Pittsburgh Penguin who can say, ‘I can threepeat.’”
Sharp bettors backed the Jets in Game 5, but the books still lost money because the betting public overrode the professional action.
“There was so much two-way action on Game 4 that we won. But we lost on (Sunday’s) game,” Sherman said. “Usually any time Vegas wins, the book will lose. If they lose, we do pretty well on it.”
A South Point bettor lost $100,000 on the Jets in Friday’s 3-2 loss in Game 4 at T-Mobile Arena, veteran oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro posted on Twitter.
The Knights have lost only three times in the playoffs, going 12-3 and clinching all three series on the road.
The Knights are the adjusted plus 105 favorites to win the Stanley Cup at William Hill sports book, the Lightning are plus 110 and the Capitals are 9-1. The Westgate has Tampa Bay as the even-money favorite, the Knights at 6-5 and Washington at 8-1.
“You have to think (the Knights) believe in themselves. They’re a confident group and they’re loose,” Esposito said. “The team wasn’t expected to do much and they’ve already proven they belong in the Finals.”
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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
