The Florida Panthers have conjured up playoff magic all postseason long, propelling them into the Stanley Cup Final. So, they’re left to wait for the winner of the Western Conference Final between Dallas and Vegas to emerge. But if things continue as they have, they might not need to wait long.
During the Stanley Cup playoffs, The Athletic’s writers will make their straight-up picks. You’ll find picks, coverage and the latest odds here. Our in-depth NHL coverage is linked below the picks.
All odds from BetMGM and update live. Looking for tickets for tonight’s game? Find deals on StubHub.
Game 4 – Golden Knights at Stars
Vegas leads 3-0
8 p.m. on ESPN, SN, CBC
The Golden Knights have gotten goals when they’ve needed them all postseason long. Whether it’s been from Jonathan Marchessault, who has five goals in his last four games, Chandler Stephenson coming through with overtime heroics, Mark Stone clearly benefiting from some time off in the regular season or Ivan Barbashev, who had himself a three-point night on Tuesday. But perhaps we need to shine more of a light on Adin Hill, who is 6-1 in his last seven appearances and has been playing at a rate of .939. He might not be Sergei Bobrovsky, but he has emerged as a dependable netminder in relief of Laurent Brossoit. Considering Dallas unraveled the way it did in Game 3, no wonder our experts feel so comfortable about the Golden Knights.
Speaking of Dallas, it is not a good time for the green and white. Jamie Benn’s needless penalty now has him suspended for two games and it could cost him the rest of the postseason. Evgenii Dadonov also won’t be available on Thursday due to injury. It would be pretty surprising for the Stars to go away from Jake Oettinger in Game 4, but he put forth a poor performance in Game 3. The fans are clearly restless, to the point they threw food on the ice, which could ultimately serve as a precursor for Dallas to go out with a whimper.
More on Stars vs. Golden Knights
How the Golden Knights’ frustrating, impervious defense undid the Stars in Game 3
Jamie Benn wasn’t there when the Stars needed him most
What lessons to learn (and what to avoid) from Stanley Cup playoffs’ final four teams
(Photo of Jonathan Marchessault: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)