The Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche meet Thursday in game 2 of the West Finals NHL Playoffs at the Ball Arena. The Edmonton Oilers look to even up the series at 1-1. The Colorado Avalanche have a chance to take a quick 2-0 series lead.
The Edmonton Oilers are averaging 4.46 goals per game and are scoring on 29.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Evander Kane leads Edmonton with 13 goals, Connor McDavid has 21 assists and Zach Hyman has 56 shots on goal. Defensively, the Edmonton Oilers are allowing 3.46 goals per game and are killing 83.7 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Mike Smith has allowed 36 goals on 436 shots faced, and Mikko Koskinen has given up 6 goals on 58 shots.
The Colorado Avalanche are averaging 4.64 goals per game and are scoring on 35.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado with 9 goals, Cale Makar has 12 assists and Nazem Kadri has 43 shots on goal. Defensively, the Colorado Avalanche are allowing 3 goals per game and are killing 71.4 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Darcy Kuemper has allowed 24 goals on 234 shots faced, and Pavel Francouz has given up 8 goals on 72 shots.
The Oilers are 17-5 in their last 22 Thursday games and 21-8 in their last 29 overall. The Avalanche are 56-13 in their last 69 home games and 53-19 in their last 72 overall. The over is 5-1 in Oilers last 6 overall. The over is 4-1 in Avalanche last 5 overall. The Oilers are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings in Colorado and 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
The Colorado Avalanche are the rightful favorite as they’re at home, have been the more consistent team and have won six of the last nine meetings against the Oilers. However, the Oilers are too talented to pass up with the big plus money, and they showed in game 1 they have the horses to hang with the Avs. The Oilers have still won 72.4 percent of their last 29 games, and they’ve lost back-to-back games just twice since March 24. The line is probably fair, but there’s too much value with Edmonton in the big underdog role given the offensive firepower this club has.