NHL Best Bets
Friday night was another thrilling night in the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the New York Rangers evened up their series with the Florida Panthers in a thrilling overtime game. My record in the Conference Finals for has now improved to 5-1 and I’m looking to stay hot with my NHL best bets tonight as we enter Game Two of the Western Conference Final between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers.
Let’s get into it.
Edmonton at Dallas (-142, 5.5)
Game One of the Western Conference Finals lived up to all of the hype between the Dallas Stars and the Edmonton Oilers. If you’re an Oilers fan, it definitely got a little nerve-racking after the team let a 2-0 lead slip away and had to kill off a double minor in overtime. Connor McDavid specifically had an emotional roller coaster of a game, he took that penalty at the start of overtime, then missed a perfect chance on the doorstep, but was robbed by Jake Oettinger before he eventually scored the game-winning goal.
The Stars are now 0-7 in Game Ones dating back to 2022, but in Game Two, they’re looking to bounce back just like they have for the majority of the playoffs.
Something that needs to be discussed is how good Edmonton’s penalty kill has been. They went a perfect 5/5 in Game One and are now clicking at 92.5% during the postseason. The Oilers man-down unit is not only becoming a massive talking point around the league, but it could potentially be the x-factor in this series. Edmonton only got one opportunity on their own man-advantage, so you have to credit the Stars in that aspect, but if Dallas continues to struggle on the power play in Game Two, it could suck the life out of them, especially on home ice.
Stuart Skinner, who faced a ton of criticism all year has now put together some really strong performances in his last three starts. Skinner boasted a .939 save percentage and stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced in the last game and is starting to pick up a lot of momentum.
Not discrediting anything about the Dallas Stars, but something about Edmonton feels like they can really take another game on the road. It’s all going to come down to special teams and I anticipate the Oilers to get some more looks on the man-advantage tonight while continuing to shut down the Stars’ power play.
We’ve seen the Stars drop two straight games at home in this postseason, who’s to say it can’t happen again?
NHL Best Bet: Edmonton Oilers ML +120 (play to +100)
May Record: 32-21 (+10.22 units)
2023-24 record: 185–172 (-18.47 units)
