Golden Knights small favorite over Stars in round-robin opener
With the NHL preplayoffs fast approaching Aug. 1, Las Vegas sportsbooks have posted lines on all eight opening qualifying round games and all four opening round-robin games at Edmonton and Toronto.
The Golden Knights are -125 favorites over the Dallas Stars (+115) in their scheduled Aug. 3 round-robin game at Edmonton. Vegas is +205 on the puck line (-1½) at the Westgate and the total is 5½ (Under -130).
The Blues and Avalanche are each -105 in the other Western Conference round-robin game on Aug. 2.
In the Eastern Conference round-robin games in Toronto, the Bruins are -130 favorites over the Flyers (+120) on Aug. 2 and the Lightning are -125 favorites over the Capitals (+115) on Aug. 3.
The winners of the best-of-five qualifying round series will advance to face one of the round-robin teams in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Here are the lines on the five qualifying round games scheduled for Aug. 1:
— Penguins (-165) over Canadiens (+150)
— Hurricanes (-125) over Rangers (+115)
— Panthers (-105) vs. Islanders (-105)
— Oilers (-145) over Blackhawks (+132)
— Flames (-115) over Jets (+105)
A bettor at the Westgate placed a $5,500 straight wager to win $5,000 on Calgary over Winnipeg in Game 1 and a $2,200 bet to win $2,000 on the Flames to win the series.
Here are the lines on the three qualifying round games scheduled for Aug. 2:
— Maple Leafs (-150) over Blue Jackets (+135)
— Predators (-125) over Coyotes (+115)
— Canucks (-115) over Wild (+105)
The NHL exhibition game schedule is slated to start July 28. The Knights are scheduled to play Arizona at 7 p.m. on July 30. Lines have yet to be posted on the exhibitions.
Vegas is the 6-1 favorite to win the Stanley Cup, followed by Tampa Bay (7-1), Boston (7-1) and Colorado (8-1).
“We’ve taken a bunch of money on Toronto (12-1) and Edmonton (30-1). The Rangers (60-1) have gotten a lot of money,” Westgate sportsbook vice president of risk Ed Salmons said. “They’re betting on all these long shots.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
