An All-Canadian second round begins tonight in Vancouver as No. 3 goalie Arturs Silovs and the Canucks have the tough task of slowing down the Edmonton Oilers and their elite special teams.
With Vancouver's goaltending still a giant question mark and tonight’s home team having the bigger matchup adjustment between Rounds 1 and 2, my NHL picks and Oilers vs. Canucks predictions focus on how the Canucks will struggle to slow down Edmonton's elite offense and which player promotion has the best value in terms of point props.
Oilers vs Canucks prediction
My best bet
Oilers 3-way moneyline (+120 at Sports Interaction)
My analysis
The Vancouver Canucks might have the home-ice advantage in the series, but how they approach this series is infinitely different than the opening-round game plan.
The Edmonton Oilers, meanwhile, don’t have to erase the whiteboard heading into this series as there isn't a huge difference between preparing for the Kings and Canucks. However, preparing for Nashville over six games and then getting ready for the Oilers is a very big change in terms of system and assignments.
This is giving the visitors an advantage early in this series as the Canucks have to switch gears. The Oilers might be looked upon as a run-and-gun offensive team, but their defensive game might surprise many in this series.
The Edmonton penalty kill was perfect vs. the Kings while its power play scored on 45% of its opportunities. At all strengths in Round 1, Edmonton ranked fourth in expected goals against/60, ahead of Vancouver. Even Stuart Skinner was exceptional on the road in Round 1, stopping 60 of 61 shots over two games in L.A.
Another big angle brewing for the Canucks outside of the goaltending situation is with Elias Pettersson, who missed practice Tuesday because of an illness. That “illness” tag could be code for something else as teams don’t want to give away information, but the All-Star was not great against Nashville and his potential absence is massive.
It’s tough not to take the Oilers in regulation at +120 here as the Cancuks will be rolling out their backup to the backup goalie Arturs Silovs.
He did stop 75 of 80 over the last three games of the series, but Nashville's offense is nowhere near that of Edmonton's. If the Oilers win 5-1, would you be surprised? If I had to make a line of whether or not Casey DeSmith sees some action in the series, I’d put the YES at -155.
Adam Henrique is looking like a sure thing to miss the game which means Mattias Janmark will play with the big boys on the top line in Edmonton. He is +650 to score a goal and +170 for a point which are both solid plays, but I'm taking Edmonton to win after 60 minutes as my best bet.
They have the special teams advantage, the goalie advantage, and the health advantage. I’m also not reading too much into the season series that saw Vancouver win all four games. Only one of those meetings came after the Oilers changed their coaching.
I’m taking the Oilers in regulation tonight with Silovs’ play from Round 1 not translating against this elite offense.
Oilers vs Canucks same-game parlay (SGP)
Mattias Janmark anytime goalscorer
Oilers moneyline
Vancouver team total Under 2.5
The Mattias Janmark goal is giving this SGP the biggest odds but this SGP has a lot of outs and I wouldn't be surprised to see this Vancouver offense continue to struggle after scoring just two goals over the last two games of their opening-round series.
Silovs could give up five goals tonight and I also wouldn't be surprised. I'm big on the Oilers tonight and am crossing my fingers that Janmark contributes on that top line.
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Oilers vs Canucks odds
Oilers vs Canucks live odds
Oilers vs Canucks opening odds
- Puck line: Edmonton -1.5 (+170) | Vancouver +1.5 (-210)
- Moneyline: Edmonton -135 | Vancouver +115
- Over/Under: Over 6 (-115) | Under 6 (-105)
Oilers vs Canucks moneyline and Over/Under analysis
- Edmonton opened at -135 on the moneyline and has taken some money, likely due to the Pettersson injury and no Demko. That moneyline has shortened to -145 as of this afternoon. The Over is taking some money, as well.
- Vancouver won all four meetings this year but only one came with new Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch.
- Special teams are a talking point within this series as the Edmonton power play has been unstoppable at 45%. However, I'd be surprised to see a lot of scoring with the man advantage as both clubs combined to go 32-for-34 on the penalty kill. Edmonton might get a couple, but maintaining that 45% will be tough.
- Mattias Janmark is expected to start on the top line with Connor McDavid but he might not finish there as it's being reported that role might be fluid tonight.
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Oilers vs Canucks trend
The Oilers have covered the first-period puck line in 42 of their last 91 games (+3.65 units / 4% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Oilers vs Canucks.
Oilers vs Canucks game info
| Location: | Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC |
| Date: | Wednesday, 5-8-2024 |
| Puck drop: | 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | Sportsnet |
Oilers vs Canucks latest injuries
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