Vegas Golden Knights to win 

The Minnesota Wild stormed back into the series to force a Game 7 and it feels like much more of a toss-up than you could have convinced me of earlier in the series.

Vegas has the advantage of being on home ice, where they’ve typically been very good over the years. They’ll have a boisterous crowd behind them, but after losing two of the previous three in Vegas, it’s not necessarily been the home-ice advantage that they have come to enjoy.

The biggest thing the Golden Knights have to get figured out is why they can’t seem to finish. They’ve been shut out in two games this series and lost two of the three games where they had 40 or more shots. Vegas had a team shooting percentage of 10.4 per cent during the regular season, which was ninth in the league. During these playoffs, they’re at 7.3 per cent. The thing about the postseason is that there’s not enough time for numbers to self-correct and luck to suddenly turn around.

Cam Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury have been difference makers for their teams in this postseason. Fleury has a .935 save percentage and has largely given his team a chance in every game so far in this series. Talbot has a .937 save percentage and has shown the ability to steal games for the Wild. Both goalies will be tested, but in a Game 7 situation, Fleury has more experience.

He’s appeared in seven playoff deciders before, going 3-4 with a .916 save percentage. Talbot has appeared in one Game 7 and lost, but did put up a .933 save percentage in that game. As an aside, Vegas goalie Robin Lehner is 1-0 with a shutout in his only Game 7 appearance.

I think experience in these situations matter. Almost every player on the Vegas roster has appeared in a Game 7. In the case of defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez, they’ve been in four such contests and are 4-0, with each owning Stanley Cup rings. On another note, Vegas head coach Peter DeBoer is a stunning 5-0 in Game 7s. That’s going to matter a lot and I think that experience will be the difference.

Mark Stone to score anytime

These are the types of situations Mark Stone was built for.

The Vegas captain has four goals and five points in the series so far and he always seems to elevate on the biggest stages. His four goals have come on just 10 shots on net, but Stone plays so much in a normal game, you have to think his ice time will be even higher in this situation.

Look for him to make a sizable impact on the game.

Under 57.5 total shots on goal 

Only two games in this series went over 57.5 shots on goal.

In a game that you’d expect to be a little more tense, and probably a bit tighter in terms of how the teams play defensively, the likelihood of them surpassing this shot total would appear awfully low.

It’s not impossible - especially if this game ends up going into a couple of overtimes - but I just don’t see it.

Under 5.5 total 2-minute penalties 

It is well documented that NHL referees are going to call fewer penalties in a Game 7.

As long as there aren’t some of the automatic penalties like pucks over the glass for delay of game, too many men on the ice or something like that, don’t expect a lot of whistles in this one.