The Colorado Avalanche were the best team in the NHL during the regular season, but now they're in trouble against the Vegas Golden Knights. Colorado won the Presidents' Trophy, scored the most goals and allowed the fewest in the regular season and needed just nine games to get to the Western Conference Final. The Golden Knights had 26 fewer regular-season points and both of their NHL Playoffs series have gone six games. This one might be over a little more quickly, as Vegas has a 2-0 series lead after 4-2 and 3-1 victories. However, Colorado lost three games in a row just twice during the regular season.
Colorado is a -145 road favorite (wager $145 to win $100), according to the latest Avalanche vs. Golden Knights consensus odds, while Vegas is a +121 underdog (wager $100 to win $121). The Over/Under for total goals scored is 6 (over -105, Under -115).
The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NHL game 10,000 times, has locked in its NHL picks and best bets for Sunday's Avalanche vs. Golden Knights Game 3 matchup. The model entered the conference final round of the 2026 NHL playoffs with a +668 return on top-rated money-line NHL picks. Anyone following its NHL betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.
Bettors have no shortage of NHL betting opportunities in this Game 3 showdown, including spread betting, Over/Under bets, money line bets and even player prop bets. Bettors also can combine picks to make a same-game parlay bet for Sunday's Game 3 matchup for a chance at a nice profit.
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NHL Playoffs picks for Sunday, May 24
- Golden Knights money line
- Nathan MacKinnon 2+ points
Golden Knights money line
Vegas has definitely not been intimidated, and the Avalanche goaltending situation has been unpredictable. Scott Wedgewood has been pretty steady so far in this series, but with the Golden Knights back at home, they'll likely be putting the pressure on even more. Vegas was 20-12-9 at home in the regular season and has won four of six there during the playoffs. Mitchell Marner (19 points) and Jack Eichel (16 assists) have led the way for Vegas, while Nathan MacKinnon has been solid but not dominant for Colorado with seven goals and seven assists. The SportsLine model likes Vegas to take a commanding series lead, as it has the Golden Knights winning in 52% of its simulations as a plus-money underdog, good for a 'B' grade.
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Nathan MacKinnon 2+ points (+114, FanDuel)
MacKinnon leads the team with 14 points, but he knows he has to be more dominant for Colorado to get back into the series. He also knows the Avalanche are running out of time, so he should be flying all over the ice in Game 3. MacKinnon led the NHL with 53 goals in the regular season, but three Vegas players have at least as many goals as his seven in the postseason. Friday was the first game since Game 4 of the first round that the Avs superstar didn't notch at least one point, and he won't want that to happen again, especially in such a critical game. MacKinnon is the only player the SportsLine model projects as having more than a 50% chance to score (0.59 projected goals), and he is projected for 0.87 assists.
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