The Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks meet Wednesday in Game 1 Western Conference NHL Playoffs Second Round action at Rogers Arena. Here’s an Vancouver Canucks vs Edmonton Oilers Prediction.
Game Four Recap: Edmonton Makes It A Best-Of-3
The Edmonton Oilers come into this one looking to take home ice back after evening the series up at two wins apiece thanks to a 3-2 win over the Canucks in an entertaining game four. Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring for Edmonton on the power play with the lone goal of the opening frame before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins doubled Edmonton’s advantage with the only goal of the second period. Conor Garland got the Canucks on the board 6:54 into the 3rd and Dakota Joshua tied the game at two with 1:41 to go in the game. The tie was short-lived though as Edmonton would retake the lead just 1:02 later, securing the win and tying the series at two wins apiece. Calvin Pickard got the win in goal for Edmonton after stopping 19 of 21 shots faced in the win while Arturs Silovs took the loss for Vancouver after allowing all 3 goals on 30 shots faced in the defeat.
Edmonton Oilers Player Stats
Connor McDavid leads the Oilers in scoring with 132 points including a team-high 100 assists while Leon Draisaitl has 106 points with 41 goals and 65 assists. Zach Hyman has 77 points with a team-high 54 goals while Evan Bouchard has 82 points with 18 goals and 64 assists as well. Evander Kane has 44 points with 24 goals and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 67 points with 49 assists this season. Stuart Skinner is 36-16-5 with a 2.62 GAA and a .905 save percentage while Calvin Pickard is 12-7-1 with a 2.45 GAA and a .909 save percentage this season.
Why the Edmonton Oilers will win
- The Oilers have won five of their last six road games against Pacific Division opponents.
- The Canucks have lost three of their last four games at Rogers Arena.
- The Canucks have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last nine games following a road loss.
- The road team has covered the puck line in seven of the Canucks’ last nine games.
- The Canucks have lost the third period in four of their last five games as home underdogs following a road loss.
Vancouver Canucks Player Stats
J.T. Miller leads the Canucks in scoring with 103 points including 37 goals and 66 assists while Elias Pettersson has 89 points with 34 goals and 55 assists. Quinn Hughes has 92 points with a team-high 75 assists and Brock Boeser has 73 points with a team-high 40 goals and 33 assists. Thatcher Demko’s gone 35-14-2 with a 2.45 GAA and a .918 save percentage in goal for Vancouver while Casey DeSmith is 12-9-6 with a 2.89 GAA and an .896 save percentage this season.
Why the Vancouver Canucks will win
- The Oilers have lost each of their last four games as favorites following a home win.
- The Canucks have won each of their last six home games following a road loss.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Canucks’ last nine games.
- The Oilers have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last seven games following a win.
- The Canucks have won the second period in four of their last five home games against Pacific Division opponents.
Vancouver Canucks vs Edmonton Oilers Prediction
I’m on the Canucks here. I’m just at a point where I’m not laying juice just because it’s the Oilers. IF the game was in Edmonton, that’s one thing as the Oilers play much better hockey on home ice. But the Canucks have been solid at home in their own right and have been getting disrespected by oddsmakers all series long. I’m going to hop back on the horse with Vancouver here so give me the Canucks and the plus money.