Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights Game 3 prediction: Stanley Cup Final odds, picks, best bets Saturday

While most of the ink spilled about Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes will be about a disallowed goal with five minutes to go, it’s not all that relevant to handicapping the next contest, which comes Saturday night in Nevada.What is relevant is that oddsmakers at bet365 Sportsbook have set the line as a pick’em, and the Hurricanes are now a -140 favorite to lift the Stanley Cup after tying the series with an overtime winner in Game 2 on Thursday.Are the bookmakers right in calling Saturday’s Game 3 a coin flip?You can get a pretty good idea of what each team is trying to do in this series by looking at the shot and scoring chance numbers at 5-on-5.At first glance, it looks like Carolina is dominating the run of play with 50 more shot attempts (119 to 69) through two games at even strength.

However, the expected goals are nearly even (4.5 to 4.2) and the Hurricanes have generated just one more high-danger scoring chance (18-17).As expected, Rod Brind’Amour’s Canes are going for quantity, while John Tortorella’s Golden Knights are happy to sacrifice possession for counter-attacking opportunities.

Both strategies have paid off to the tune of one win, so neither side will be looking to overhaul their Plan A as we head into the meat of the series.It’s going to be a strength-on-strength battle, which means the Stanley Cup will be won on the margins.That puts a major emphasis on goaltending.Frederik Andersen did what he needed to do to get Carolina the win in Game 2, but overall, the Dane looks the shakier of the two netminders in this series.Had the controversial no-goal call Thursday night gone the other way, there would be plenty of discourse about Andersen’s reputation of coming unglued in the business end of the playoffs.

Instead, Andersen has largely escaped scrutiny.Hart, too, has had his issues, but he seems more comfortable with his assignment.He’s facing plenty of rubber, but for the mos...