The Edmonton Oilers meet the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals playoff series Wednesday. Puck drop at T-Mobile Arena is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).
Season series: Oilers won 3-0-1 in regular season.
Edmonton dispatched the LA Kings in 6 games and have been off since Saturday. The Kings were able to bottle up C Connor McDavid somewhat as he had 3 goals and 7 assists on 27 SOG. C Leon Draisaitl was a beast with 7 goals and 4 assists in the 1st round.
Vegas took care of the Winnipeg Jets in 5 games and have been idle since Thursday. Rest is good, but you have to wonder if that much time off will hinder them in Game 1. C Chandler Stephenson had a big 1st round with 4 goals and 4 assists in the 5 games.
Oilers at Golden Knights odds
- Moneyline (ML): Oilers -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Golden Knights -105 (bet $105 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Oilers -1.5 (+200) | Golden Knights +1.5 (-250)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Oilers at Golden Knights projected goalies
Stuart Skinner (29-14-5, 2.75 GAA, .914 SV%, 1 SO – regular season) vs. Laurent Brossoit (7-0-3, 2.17 GAA, .927 SV%, 0 SO – regular season)
Skinner was so-so against the Kings with a 3.43 GAA and .890 SV%. He allowed 3 goals or more in 5 of the 6 games. At one point, he was pulled from Game 4, and Jack Campbell was great the rest of the way in a 5-4 overtime win. They stuck with Skinner, but he’ll be on a short leash. He was 2-0-1 with a 3.59 GAA and .878 GAA against VGK this year.
Brossoit is a 30-year-old that spent his 1st 4 seasons with Edmonton. He only had 10 starts in the regular season, but was great against Winnipeg in the 1st round. He had a 2.42 GAA and .915 SV%, allowing 2 or fewer goals in 3 of the 5 games. He stopped 27 of 30 shots in a 4-3 victory in his only start against Edmonton this year.
Oilers at Golden Knights picks and predictions
Prediction
Oilers 5, Golden Knights 4
Moneyline
This will be an offensive series, and we’ll know early on if the 6 days between games had an adverse effect on Vegas. Both goalies are seeing their 1st real playoff action, and Skinner struggled in his 1st series. I’m picking Edmonton to take this game, but I really don’t like the -115 price on the road against the top seed in the West.
Instead, I’ll take LEON DRAISAITL ANYTIME GOAL +100. He had a goal in each of the 4 regular-season meetings and 5 total. He also had a goal in 5 of the 6 first-round games and 7 total.
Puck line/Against the spread
The Oilers’ puck line at +200 is super enticing, but I don’t trust Skinner. You’ll have to spend nearly 3 times your return to get a goal of insurance on Vegas.
Instead, I’ll take a shot at OVER 2 FIRST PERIOD GOALS (+120). I think a push is pretty safe here, and there’s plus-money upside if it hits.
Over/Under
All 4 games between the teams had at least 7 goals scored. Four of the 6 games in the Oilers/Kings series had 7 goals, and the Kings have a much-better defense than Vegas does. Only 2 of the 5 games in the VGK/Winnipeg series had 7 goals, but this will be at a faster pace.
Take the OVER 6.5 (-115).