Two teams looking to improve their playoff seeds in the Western Conference will face off on Sunday afternoon. The Colorado Avalanche will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to face the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. The puck is scheduled to drop at 3:30 PM ET and will air on TNT and Max.

The Colorado Avalanche will not win the Central Division, as the Dallas Stars have already locked up the top seed in the Western Conference. However, the Avalanche can still pass the Winnipeg Jets and finish in 2^nd place in the Central Division as they trail the Jets by two points with a record of 49-25-6 and 104 points. 

The Avalanche have struggled over their last nine games, compiling a record of 3-5-1 during that stretch, and are coming off a 0-7 shutout loss at home against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. Colorado also has a tough stretch to end the regular season, with their final two games coming on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights and at home against the Edmonton Oilers. 

This will be the 3^rd and final game of the regular season series in the 2023-24 NHL season, with the teams splitting the first two meetings this season and the Avalanche winning the most recent game by a score of 3-0 at home. The Colorado Avalanche will look to win the regular season series 2-1 when they travel to face the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Vegas Golden Knights locked up their playoff spot following Friday’s 7-2 win at home against the St. Louis Blues, and the St. Louis Blues lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Golden Knights won the 2023 Stanley Cup and will look to repeat this season. 

They will also look to move up in the standings as they trail the Los Angeles Kings by 1 point for 3^rd place in the Pacific Division with a record of 43-28-8. Vegas has struggled over their last four games, compiling a record of 1-3 with losses on the road against the Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, and Edmonton Oilers. 

However, after the game against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, the Vegas Golden Knights' final two regular season games will be at home against the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks, two of the worst teams in the Western Conference. The Vegas Golden Knights will look to make up ground on the Los Angeles Kings when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon.

BetOnline has the Vegas Golden Knights listed as -115 moneyline favorites at home against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon. The teams have split the previous two meetings this season, with the Avalanche having won the most recent contest by a score of 3-0 at home. The teams have split the last ten games in the series, and the Golden Knights have outscored the Avalanche by an average of 2.6 to 2.2 goals per game in those matchups.

Both teams have struggled lately, with Vegas losing three of their last four games and Colorado winning only three in their last nine contests. The teams have split the two previous meetings this season, with the Avalanche winning the most recent game at home with a score of 3-0. The Avalanche have also won five of the last seven games in the series. As a result, I am taking the moneyline for the Colorado Avalanche when they travel to face the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon.