NHL Monday betting preview: Western Conference playoff race intensifies

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It was a great weekend as we went a perfect 3-0 with our best bets and 5-2 overall for a tasty profit.

Let's turn that money into more money Monday.

GOATs and scapegoats

A number of guys did us a solid over the weekend, but GOAT honors go to Kevin Fiala. He was a horse for the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, scoring a pair of goals, including the overtime winner on the power play after drawing the penalty following a great individual effort. He helped the Wild to a 5-4 win and ensured a clean sweep of our best bets.

As for our scapegoat, Igor Shesterkin made his first start since Feb. 22 on Saturday, and he was absolutely not up to his old antics. He allowed five goals on 23 shots and didn't even last two periods, leaving us with little chance of cashing our New York Rangers -1.5 bet.

Monday bets

Vegas Golden Knights (+105)

The atmosphere inside Rogers Place should be absolutely electric for this massive Pacific Division showdown. With a regulation win, the Edmonton Oilers would leap ahead of the Golden Knights and into first place, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Vegas is going to spoil the party.

This is the second game of a back-to-back for the Knights, who won 5-3 in Calgary yesterday, and they actually excel in this spot. Vegas has won four straight road games on no rest and is 6-1 this season in this situation. The Oilers have lost their last three home games when they've had at least one day off between games and their opponent is playing on no rest. Edmonton has been playing well, winning four of its last five, but had lost four of five before this run and is 4-3 at home since the start of February. There's good value with Vegas tonight.

Best bet

Winnipeg Jets (-120)

The wild-card race is going to make for incredible entertainment over the final month of the season. The Winnipeg Jets have gotten back into the thick of it by playing some of their best hockey of the season, while the opposite has been true of the Arizona Coyotes, who are in danger of falling out of contention pretty soon.

The Jets have won five in a row at home, allowing just six goals total over that span. That doesn't bode well for a Coyotes team that struggles mightily to score, especially on the road where they've lost 11 of their last 13, scoring two goals or fewer in 10 of those games. Arizona lost 10 of its last 11 visits to Winnipeg and I'd expect a similar fate tonight.

Trend of the night

Of the last 12 meetings between the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche at the Staples Center, 10 of them have totaled five goals or fewer.

With a total of 5.5 tonight, the under is certainly in play - it's hit in eight of Colorado's last 10 road games. In addition, the Avalanche scored two or fewer goals in 10 of their last 12 games in Los Angeles, so their team total under 2.5 at +150 might also be worth a look.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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