Sportsbooks need Wild over Knights in heavily bet Game 7

It’s time for two of the most exciting words in sports. Game 7.

The Golden Knights are consensus -180 favorites over the Minnesota Wild (+160) in Game 7 of their first-round NHL playoff series Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Not surprisingly, bettors are loading up on the Knights at the valley’s sportsbooks.

“It’s the same situation we’ve been in with the Knights playoff games in all four seasons. The book needs the Knights to lose,” Westgate sportsbook director John Murray said. “From the perspective of the sportsbook bottom line, we definitely want to see Minnesota win the game. But all of us are big Knights fans.”

The Knights lead the ticket count on the money line by a 3½-1 margin at the Westgate. Books also are overflowing with wagers on the Knights on the -1½ puck line, which pays +160 if they win by two goals or more.

“We’re starting to see a lot more action on the puck line on the Knights because they’re getting a better price,” Sunset Station sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “And being Game 7, if the Wild are down, they’ll probably pull their goalie earlier to try to get an equalizer and that will increase the chances of an empty-net goal.

“We’re still rooting for the Knights to win tonight just to set up what could be a huge handle series between the Knights and Avalanche.”

Esposito said the betting handle, or amount wagered, on Knights playoff games has dwarfed the handle on every other game, and Game 7 will be the biggest bet one yet.

“This game will definitely have the handle of a Stanley Cup Finals game that the Knights weren’t involved in,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said. “So if the Avalanche were playing the Lightning, this Knights-Wild Game 7 would probably do more than that. All the Knights games just do so much more business, usually around three times as much as the rest of the playoff games.

“On the flip side, their decisions are so big and we get stung when they win, especially when they cover the puck line and go over the total. So there’s a good side and a bad side. … game-to-game we can get hurt pretty good here in Nevada.”

The total is 5 (over -130/under +110) after it opened at 5½ as 62 percent of the money at William Hill is on the under.

Seventy-five percent of the money on the money line at William Hill is on the Knights, including a $15,000 wager to win $8,571.40.

Another William Hill bettor in Nevada has a $5,000 wager to win $10,750 on the Wild to win the series (+215).

After Minnesota won Game 1, a bettor at the Westgate bet $24,000 to win $20,000 on the Knights to win the series (-120).

“There’s a pretty big decision already on the game, but the bigger decision for us is the series price,” Murray said.

The Westgate opened Colorado as a -160 favorite over the Knights (+140) in a possible second-round series and the line has climbed to -175/+155.

“Despite money coming in at +140 on the Golden Knights, we drifted the price up a little bit in response to the Knights losing Games 5 and 6 to Minnesota,” Murray said.

There are a plethora of props on the game, including a goal scored in the first 10 minutes (-130 yes), overtime (+330 yes) and first goal scorer (Mark Stone and Kirill Kaprisov 10-1).

“Goal in first five or 10 minutes is always popular,” Bogdanovich said. “The overtime one draws a little bit because people like the chance to bet a little to win a lot.

“Individual player props to score a goal always draw, they always bet Mark Stone ‘no’ every time. I mean every time the sharps are betting on him not to score a goal.”

For all their success, the Knights are 2-8 in potential close out games over the past three seasons.

“My official prediction will be Knights win, but I won’t be running out to bet a lot of money on that,” Murray said. “If it’s 0-0 at the end of the second period, you’ll be able to hear a pin drop. The Knights are going to get a reputation as chokers if they lose this game. It could be a franchise defining game tonight.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.