Golden Knights vs. Stars Western Conference Finals Betting Preview: Series Odds

Following the Dallas Stars' thrilling 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7 on Monday, the NHL's Western Conference Finals are now set.

The Stars will meet the Vegas Golden Knights, who defeated the Edmonton Oilers in six games, in a rematch of the 2019-20 WCF.

The series opens on Friday with Game 1 in Las Vegas.

Here's how the Golden Knights and Stars stack up heading into the Western Conference Finals.

All NHL odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Golden Knights vs. Stars Western Conference Finals: Moneyline, Total Goals, Total Games, and Correct Score

• Series Moneyline:
  • Golden Knights: -145
  • Stars: +120
• Total Goals: 33.5
• Total Games:
  • 4: +600
  • 5: +260
  • 6: +195
  • 7: +195
• Correct Score:
  • Golden Knights 4-0: +1000
  • Golden Knights 4-1: +470
  • Golden Knights 4-2: +460
  • Golden Knights 4-3: +400
  • Stars 4-0: +1600
  • Stars 4-1: +800
  • Stars 4-2: +500
  • Stars 4-3: +550

Golden Knights vs. Stars Western Conference Finals Goalie Breakdown

Projected starting goalies via Left Wing Lock.

• Golden Knights: Adin Hill
  • Goals Against Average: 2.50
  • Save %: .915
• Stars: Jake Oettinger
  • Goals Against Average: 2.37
  • Save %: .919

Golden Knights vs. Stars Advanced Stats Breakdown

nERD via numberFire. Expected goal stats via NaturalStatTrick. Corsi and Fenwick stats via MoneyPuck.

• Golden Knights:
  • nERD: +0.55 (9th)
  • Goal Differential per 60: +0.37 (11th)
  • xGoal Differential per 60: +0.09 (16th)
  • Playoff Corsi %: 47.0 (14th)
  • Playoff Fenwick %: 47.4 (13th)
• Stars:
  • nERD: +0.62 (6th)
  • Goal Differential per 60: +0.45 (8th)
  • xGoal Differential per 60: +0.22 (11th)
  • Playoff Corsi %: 50.9 (6th)
  • Playoff Fenwick %: 50.3 (7th)

Golden Knights vs. Stars Western Conference Finals Analysis

This year's Western Conference Finals features a rematch of the 2020 WCF. In that series, Dallas defeated top-seeded Vegas in five games. Vegas will also enter this year's rematch as the top seed in the West.

The Golden Knights are back in the WCF for the third time since their inaugural season in 2017-18. Vegas has now made it to the conference finals in half of its six seasons. They are 1-1 in their previous two trips and are looking to claim their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

The Stars are back in the WCF for the third time since 2008. After defeating Vegas in 2020, they lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

The Golden Knights entered the postseason as the West's top seed after producing the fourth-most points (111) during the regular season. In the first round, they stumbled out of the gate, dropping Game 1 at home to Winnipeg Jets by a score of 5-1. They rebounded immediately, securing four wins in a row by a combined score of 18-9 to eliminate Winnipeg and set up a clash with the Edmonton Oilers in the second round.

Against Edmonton, the Golden Knights won Game 1 and traded games for the next four, arriving at a 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6. After falling behind 2-1 in the first period, a Jonathan Marchessault hat trick in the second stanza propelled Vegas to victory, eliminating the Oilers and sending the Golden Knights to the WCF.

The Stars had a slightly more difficult time reaching this point. They finished the regular season with the eighth-most points (108), setting up a first-round meeting with the Minnesota Wild. After falling behind 2-1, Dallas took the final three games by a combined score of 11-3 to send the Wild home and set up a showdown with Seattle in the second round.

The series against the Kraken was a wild one. Dallas lost Game 1 in overtime, bounced back with a win in Game 2, and then dropped Game 3 7-3 on the road. Finding themselves down 2-1 once again, the Stars secured back-to-back wins to take a 3-2 lead into Game 6. In Game 6, they never gained a foothold, falling behind by three goals in the second period and never recovering. Back at home in a tense Game 7, Dallas took a two-goal lead and held on to advance to the WCF.

The result of all that is a clash between two teams that have been effective on both sides of the puck this postseason. Vegas (3.7 goals scored and 3.0 goals allowed) and Dallas (3.6 goals scored and 3.1 goals allowed) both rank inside the top five in goals scored per game and inside the top six in goals allowed per game this postseason.

Vegas has been good both at home (4-2) and on the road (4-1), and their 4.0 goals per away game ranks first among the remaining teams. Dallas has also been good at home (5-2) but has struggled a bit on the road (3-3). Those struggles have been the result of a defense allowing 4.0 goals per away game, third-most in the playoffs and the most among remaining teams.

One area where the Stars have significantly outplayed Vegas is on the power play. Dallas has the fifth-best power-play percentage (31.7%) and third-best penalty-kill percentage (83.3%) so far this postseason. Vegas' power-play percentage (17.5%) ranks 12th, and their penalty-kill percentage (60.0%) checks in 15th. Some of that has to do with the Golden Knights facing an elite power-play side in Edmonton, but Vegas also killed only 58.3% of their power plays against the Jets. The issue is compounded by the fact that Vegas is averaging the most penalties taken per game this postseason (5.6).

As it stands, the Golden Knights are the favorite to win Game 1 (-140) as well as the series as a whole, and Vegas has the second-best odds to win the Stanley Cup (+240).

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.