BEST LINES:  Pinnacle -125 BET365 -130 SportsInteraction -130 5DIMES -126

Posted on Tuesday April 10 before Game 1

VEGAS -125 over Los Angeles

Series pick – Begins Thursday, April 12

10:05 PM EST. The Kings bring a certain playoff pedigree to the table, but that experience is overvalued in the market this time of year. So, too, is L.A. after posting a league-low in goals allowed, but that number is correlated with the Kings' number one ranked penalty kill. While easy talking points, a hot power play and a strong penalty kill unit can come and go like the dust in the wind, as those luck based statistics usually even out over time. Playoff experience is another crutch the talking heads will use to break down this series, but this Los Angeles squad is nothing like those championship teams that were coached by Darryl Sutter. If you believe in the eye test as we do, these Kings aren't as good as their goal differential suggests. They are a one-line team that is heavy on name brand talent. Goaltender Johnathan Quick doesn't have to answer the same critics as his counterpart Marc Andre Fleury,, but the former's most recent playoff appearance was much less successful than the latter's. The Kings were blitzed by the Sharks in 2016 and Quick was torched for 16 goals in just five games. L.A. had the "edge" in experience in that series as well.

The Golden Knights are in uncharted waters after putting together the greatest inaugural season in the expansion era. Before the Knights ever took the ice, the team became a became both a symbol and a welcomed distraction in the wake of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Since that first emotional night in October, the Golden Knights have been the backbone of the community's "Vegas Strong" rallying cry. At one point this season Vegas was the betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup, but it has since seen its stock stumble with a 6-5-2 record to end the season, as the pundits now wonder if the Knights have fallen back to earth. A 7-1 loss to the Flames to end the season might look like the exclamation point on that sentiment, but we're not going too put much value on a string of games that had little meaning after this team clinched a playoff spot at the end of March. The reality is, Vegas has been comfortably in a playoff position since January when its price was at its peak. With the postseason upon him, there will be questions about goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's shaky playoff past, but we are not interested in games that took place earlier this season let alone in years prior. Vegas has enjoyed one of the best home-ice advantages in the league with the atmosphere being at a near-playoff level all season long. We are friendly with a few folks that are close to the scene in Vegas and they say nothing compares to the noise at T-Mobile Arena. Home ice advantage counts for more in the playoffs than it does in the regular season and we trust we are getting a discount on the Golden Knight here even though they are the betting favorites. Truth be told, if playoffs started 21 days ago, the Golden Knights would've been a 2-1 fav or better. They have dominated and blown away teams at T-Mobile but their cooling off at the end of the season provides us with a great opportunity here. The Golden Knights are legit. They didn't peak too soon as some suggest, they just went into a funk at a time when the market takes more notice than had it happened in January for instance. If you're looking for a short-priced favorite in the first round, look no further. The Golden Knights are a real bargain at this price.

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