The all-Canadian Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks is in full swing, and now both teams have stolen a bit of home ice from each other. Following a Game 3 win over the weekend, it’s the Canucks who could now create a commanding advantage for themselves with a win on Tuesday night. Let’s dive into what’s happened, and what’s at stake.
Bet on Canucks vs. Oilers GM 4
The moneyline favourites are the Oilers, coming in between -200 and -225.
Canucks vs. Oilers Best Odds
| Canucks Moneyline Odds | +178 @ Pinnacle |
| Oilers Moneyline Odds | -200 @ Betway |
| Puckline odds | Oilers -1.5 (-136) @ Pinnacle Canucks +1.5 (+128) @ FanDuel |
| Series odds | Oilers -115, Canucks -105 @ bet365 |
| Total | Over 6.5 goals (+102) @ DraftKings Under 6.5 goals (-109) @ Pinnacle |
| Time/Date | May 14, 9:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports Stream: Sportsnet+ (How to watch the NHL in Canada?) |
Last Matchup
Sunday was a scoring change away from being remembered as “the Brock Boeser game”, and it very well still might be. At first, that had a negative connotation, as the winger took an early tripping penalty that Mattias Ekholm turned into an Oilers lead. Three minutes later, however, with Leon Draisaitl in the box, Boeser ripped a heavy snapshot from the point and the game was tied.
With lots of time still on the first-period clock, Boeser put the Canucks up with a wrister at the hash marks at the 13-minute mark, and with 90 seconds to go in the frame, he took advantage of an Oilers turnover and wrapped up what was thought to be a natural hat trick in the moment. Eventually, the first goal was found to have deflected off of Elias Lindholm, bringing Boeser’s effort to “just” two goals and an assist, but that didn’t change the impact he had on the period.
It was a good thing for his team that he did, too, as this game eventually closed in. Draisaitl and Lindholm traded power play goals in the second period, and Evan Bouchard put the Oilers within one with a little over a minute remaining. But in the end, the Canucks were able to hold on and secure the win.
Betting Vancouver Canucks (6-3 SU, 7-2 ATS, 5-4 o/u)
While Boeser was the obvious standout for the Canucks, a lot of credit is due to Elias Lindholm as well, as this game isn’t won without his pair of goals. Even if you feel that Boeser’s first-period shot would have gone in without the deflection, Lindholm’s second goal ended up being a pivotal game-winner.
His production couldn’t come at a better time. For a while after the centre was acquired from the Calgary Flames, things didn’t look particularly great. Lindholm had a two-goal debut for the Canucks on February 6th, but then scored just two goals and three assists in his next 19 games. A glimmer of hope came in the final few weeks of the year as he produced five points in his final six games, and in these playoffs, he’s now up to seven points in nine games – including three multi-point nights.
The Canucks would love a little more consistency there, without a doubt – but he’s popped in big moments. Every time he’s landed on the scoresheet, they’ve won – and narrowly so, with three one-goal wins and one two-goal win with an empty-netter.
Betting Edmonton Oilers (5-3 SU, 2-6 ATS, 7-1 o/u)
The Oilers have two big concerns going into Tuesday’s game.
The first will be discipline. The Oilers can’t get distracted if they want to win this series. One key example of getting burned came when the Oilers wasted an opportunity to get a power play late in the second period when Nikita Zadorov hit Evander Kane into the bench. While you can argue whether or not the Zadorov hit should’ve been a penalty, to begin with, the players on the bench grabbing onto Zadorov after the hit turned it into a wash. The end-of-game scrum also set a sour tone going into this game, but Edmonton can’t carry that energy into Tuesday.
The other big issue, and probably their biggest, is between the pipes. Stuart Skinner has, frankly, not been good in this series, and for much of the playoffs. Since his 33-save shutout against the Kings in Game 4, the Oilers have limited their opponents to under 25 shots in all four games. Skinner hasn’t been able to limit them to fewer than three goals, posting a .810 save percentage. This is a long-term trend for him in spring hockey, too – Skinner’s .881 save percentage over the past three playoffs is the worst out of the 16 goalies who have played more than 10 games.
Calvin Pickard came in for Skinner in the third period of Game 3, stopping three shots. According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Pickard will come in for Game 4 as well – marking the 32-year-old’s first career playoff start. His regular season numbers were slightly better than Skinner’s, though the opponents he was facing weren’t always of the same quality. Whether or not he can live up to the moment? We’ll see – Edmonton’s season might depend on it.
Projected Canucks vs. Oilers Lines
| Today’s Edmonton Oilers Lines | Today’s Vancouver Canucks Lines |
|---|---|
| Forwards Leon Draisaitl – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman Warren Foegele – Ryan-Nugent Hopkins – Evander Kane Dylan Holloway – Ryan McLeod – Corey Perry Mattia Janmark – Derek Ryan – Connor Brown Defence Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard Darnell Nurse – Cody Ceci Brett Kulak – Vincent Desharnais Starting In Goal Calvin Pickard PO: 0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV% (3 SOG) Season: 12-7-1, 2.45 GAA, 0.909 SV% | Forwards Pius Suter – JT Miller – Brock Boeser Ilya Mikheyev – Elias Pettersson – Linus Karlsson Dakota Joshua – Elias Lindholm – Conor Garland Nils Aman – Teddy Blueger – Sam Lafferty Defence Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek Nikita Zadorov – Tyler Myers Noah Juulsen – Ian Cole Starting In Goal Arturs Silovs PO: 4-1-1, 2.65 GAA, 0.908 SV% RS: 3-0-1, 2.47 GAA, 0.881 SV% |
The Department of Player Safety was not a fan of the end-of-game scrum between the two teams, particularly the two cross-checks that went Connor McDavid’s way. Nikita Zadorov received a $5,000 fine for his initial cross-check from behind, and Carson Soucy received a one-game suspension for his secondary cross-check, which hit McDavid up high. This leaves Vancouver without one of their regular defencemen – we expect Noah Juulsen to take his place, though the jury is out on how the Canucks will lay out the pairs.
Notably, Zach Hyman also had a high cross-check in this scrum, doing some damage to Zadorov in the process, but he was given a fine or suspension and will remain on the top line for the Oilers. Edmonton currently stands to run the same lines as they did on Sunday.
Total: Over 6.5 goals scored
Canucks vs. Oilers Injury Concerns
Neither team has any new injury concerns to carry over from the previous game. Nikita Zadorov is a little banged up from the end-of-game scrum, but that’s not expected to impact his availability – especially with the Canucks now playing a regular short on the blue line.
NHL Betting Trends
- The Canucks are 7-3 against the Oilers in their last 10 games against each other, dating back to the start of the 2022/23 season. Vancouver has an even deeper 8-2 edge against the puckline and the over has been hit in six of those 10 games.
- Vancouver is 6-4 in their last 10 games, with a 7-3 record against the puck line and a 6-4 edge towards the over on the total goals line.
- The Oilers are 5-5 in their last 10, with a 2-8 record against the puck line. Eight of 10 games have cleared the total goals over. Edmonton has now dropped five consecutive pucklines in a row.
NHL Player Prop Trends
- Brock Boeser’s scorching Sunday puts him at the top of the charts for the Canucks, leading the team over their last 10 games with seven goals, 22 shots on goal, and a co-leading 11 points. He shares the points lead with J.T. Miller, who has two goals and nine assists in that stretch.
- Elias Lindholm’s pair of goals in Game 3 add to his hot streak, with six goals in his last 10 games.
- Leon Draisaitl is having yet another meteoric playoff run and leads the way for Edmonton with a whopping 18 points in their last 10 games. Oddly enough, he doesn’t lead the team in goals, assists, or shots in that time.
- Edmonton’s 10-game assists leader is Connor McDavid, with 15. Zach Hyman, meanwhile, leads the team in goals (nine) and shots on goal (38).
Canucks vs. Oilers Predictions
- As long as the Oilers are pressing, and the Oilers netminders are struggling, it’s hard to not trust the over once again. The total goals so far in this series have landed at nine, seven, and seven, respectively. Your best value is currently on DraftKings, at +102.
- I think the Oilers are due to tie this series up. Yes, outscoring your problems is difficult, but it’s hard not to look at the full-series shot count of 94-51 and not think that these one-goal games are going to start slipping the other way. Vancouver gave up three leads in Game 2 and had their two-goal lead pushed back by one twice in Game 3, so there’s a vulnerability there. The best value on the Oilers moneyline is at Betway or Pinnacle, sitting at -200.
- If you’re feeling like a bit of a home run swing, a fun same-game parlay on bet365 has Leon Draisaitl and Quinn Hughes both notching an assist and at least three shots. Draisaitl has met this mark in every game this series so far, with two assists and three shots in Game 1, three and four in Game 2, and one and five in Game 3. Hughes has a bit more work to do, with assists in each of his last two games, but two shots on goal in both. If you think Draisaitl can keep it up and the Canucks captain can slightly step it up, this parlay comes in at +800.
