The Stanley Cup Finals continue Monday night in Game 3 between the visiting New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings. The NHL Playoff odds for the game have the Kings favored at -165 (Risk $165 to win $100). The game is scheduled for an 8:00 pm start time and it will be televised live on NBC Sports Network. The odds show that bookmakers have a prediction of a big time home win for the Kings.
Picks: We are a bit surprised by the inflated line here tonight with the LA Kings. Sure, they've won both games on the road so far in this Stanley Cup Finals, but now we have the New Jersey Devils in absolute must-win mode. Remember, both games won by the Kings were 2-1 contests and in overtime. Both teams have played very well in the two previous games. The Kings just got the big goal in overtime when they needed it the most. Expect a very good effort from the New Jersey Devils in this game tonight. I'm actually expecting them to come out, take an early lead and keep the Los Angeles fans out of the game early. That's going to be a major factor in tonight's contest if the Kings and Devils play on an even ice. If Los Angeles stays even at 0-0 or even takes a lead on the Devils, the crowd is going to rain down on New Jersey and it will be hard to play both the Kings and the home crowd. Jonathan Quick has played an amazing series so far for the Kings, but Devils goalie Martin Brodeur has been equally as impressive. Remember, the Kings won both games in this series, but the Devils have kept them to just a single tally in regulation time in both games. That means the Devils are right there and just need a few more breaks in order to have things go there way. Kings captain Dustin Brown hasn't scored since the opening game of the Conference Finals, and the Kings are finding a way to win games without having to score a ton of goals. There's no way the Devils just lay down in this series and we're expecting a very good effort from Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise.
Prediction: We really like the Devils as a massive underdog in this game tonight, currently sitting at +145 to win the game. That line would seem within reason if the Kings had really put it to New Jersey in one of the games, but they haven't, they've won two games in overtime. Getting a team at these odds in an absolute must-win situation seems like a pretty good gift for us. Sure, the Kings have played great this post season and have a major advantage over New Jersey in this series, but from a pure value perspective it makes the most sense to take the Devils. I think they'll get a couple of goals in regulation time tonight.
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