As the Stanley Cup Finals begin on Monday, there are big questions to be answered - namely, will the Vegas Golden Knights become the biggest first-year success story in the history of sports, or will the Washington Capitals finally become a champion after more than four decades of frustration. Game time is 8:05 PM ET the T-Mobile Arena, and BetAnySports customers can place wagers while the game is in progress, by accessing the state-of-the-art software from Live Betting Ultra.

Well, you definitely can't say that the Capitals are team that is folding, the way some people have accused them in the past. In each of the three playoff series they have engaged in, they have come from behind to win. And perhaps the most impressive outing they've had involved eliminating the Pittsburgh Penguins, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, in six games. Washington has been in the NHL since 1974, with only one time having made it to the Cup finals, losing 4-0 to the Detroit Red Wings. But there is something here that suggests to observers that it might be different day.

And there is kind of a sentimental story attached. Alex Ovechkin, the three-time MVP, is playing in the Finals for the first time, and he's been a big part of Washington's story in getting here, as he is the team's second-leading overall scorer in the playoffs (behind Evgeny Kuznetsov) with a dozen goals and 10 assists. Washington is a team that will test the Vegas defense, because they can go four-deep with their lines, and they also have a leading scorer in the league among defensemen in John Carlson (68 points).

The Golden Knights are team where a lot of players who were not necessarily coveted by other clubs have emerged. One of them is William Karlsson, the team's leading scorer with 43 goals, who has had 13 points in the playoffs. They put a strong two lines out there, along with what might be a little deeper defensive crew than the Capitals have. Aside from Karlsson, one player they will be relying on heavily for scoring is Jonathan Marchessault, who has come on very strong last two rounds of the post-season. He is the constant threat, and a player who exemplifies the Hall of Fame-level job George McPhee did when originally acquiring players for this team, as he practically stole him from the Florida Panthers.

In the Stanley Cup playoff odds that have been posted on this game by the folks at BetAnySports, Vegas is the favorite:

Vegas Golden Knights -143
Washington Capitals +123

Knights -1.5 Goals +200
Caps +1.5 Goals -240

Under 5.5 Goals -125
Over 5.5 Goals +105

It's kind of amazing when you think about the fact that these Vegas players weren't even together a year ago today. McPhee's original vision was that they could think about getting to the playoffs in three years, and then perhaps be a serious threat within six. So this is somewhat miraculous.

One of the ways that they got lucky was to find Marc-Andre Fleury in the expansion draft. Fleury, member of Pittsburgh's Cup winning teams the last couple of seasons, played only 46 regular season games because of injuries, but he has given this team world-class play in goal, and that has become huge in these playoffs, as he has a 1.68 goals-against average.

Washington's goaltender, Braden Holtby, finished off the East conference final series against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a flourish. He pitched a couple of shutouts as the Caps came from 3-2 down, and in fact, held the Bolts scoreless for the last 159 minutes and 27 seconds. Keep in mind that Tampa Bay was the league's highest-scoring team this year.

Holtby, in more games, faced 21 fewer shots than Fluery in the playoffs. So the Capitals' defense, with top pairing of Dmitry Orlov and Matt Niskanen, has done more than a solid job. What they will have to do against the Golden Knights is have success clearing the puck and getting it down the ice, because the Vegas forecheckers are extremely aggressive.

Hot goalies can always go cold, and we saw that with Pekka Rinne in last year's Finals. But when you see guys with the form Fleury and Holtby have exhibited, you can't help but think that real opportunities are going to be difficult to come by, which is why we're okay going UNDER this total.

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(The preceding information has been furnished for news matter only)