The all-Canadian series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs got off to a scorching start on Wednesday, pivoting from a sure thing in one direction to a wild comeback in the other. The Vancouver Canucks now find themselves with a head start and look to continue to take advantage of home ice on Friday night against the Edmonton Oilers. Let’s look at what both teams need to do to get what they want out of Friday’s action.
Bet on Canucks vs. Oilers GM 2
The moneyline favourites are the Oilers, coming in between -119 and -130.
Canucks vs. Oilers Best Odds
| Canucks Moneyline Odds | +108 @ FanDuel |
| Oilers Moneyline Odds | -119 @ Pinnacle |
| Puckline odds | Oilers -1.5 (+205) @ Caesars Canucks +1.5 (-227) @ Pinnacle |
| Series odds | Oilers -135, Canucks +115 @ bet365 |
| Total | Over 6.5 goals (+105) @ Betano Under 6.5 goals (-120) @ Bet99 |
| Time/Date | May 10, 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports Stream: Sportsnet+ (How to watch the NHL in Canada?) |
Last Matchup
The momentum at the start and end of this game couldn’t have been further apart from each other. Right off the hop, this felt like the Oilers’ night, with the Canucks taking a too-many-men penalty on their very first line change. Zach Hyman converted on the ensuing Edmonton power play, and Mattias Ekholm added some insurance before the period ended. Dakota Joshua halved the lead early in the middle frame, but after Cody Ceci scored a weak goal from the point and Hyman doubled up within a minute of each other, the game felt done.
The Canucks didn’t get that memo, though. Elias Lindholm put the score back within reach with three minutes to go in the second period, and in the third, the floodgates opened in Vancouver’s favour. J.T. Miller made it a 4-3 game at the midway mark, Nikita Zadorov scored his third of the playoffs with six minutes to go, and 40 seconds later, Conor Garland snuck a wild bounce past Stuart Skinner to put the Canucks up for the first time. Edmonton went on a full-court press from there, but Vancouver held on to take the game.
Betting Vancouver Canucks (5-2 SU, 5-2 ATS, 3-4 o/u)
If there’s a big takeaway to be pulled out of this game for the Canucks, it’s that the group’s resilience that’s gotten them to this point is still very, very much intact. For most teams, the pair of Edmonton goals in the second period would’ve been enough to sink them. Some might have even derailed after the first penalty and goal. But they doubled down on themselves, never treated the game as out of reach, and got rewarded in a big way for it.
The biggest decision that will come from the Canucks from here is who starts in goal Friday. Arturs Silovs earned the net with his spectacular Game 6 performance against Nashville but was so-so in this game. Casey DeSmith has been above him in the depth chart throughout the year and appears to be healthy again following his own knock – do you go back to him? Or do you give Silovs a show of confidence with the future in mind and put him back in?
Betting Edmonton Oilers (4-2 SU, 4-2 ATS, 5-1 o/u)
One of my predictions going into Game 1 was that the under on 6.5 goals would be a shrewd bet, expecting the two teams to feel each other out a bit. I was both right and wrong in that regard – the game had significantly fewer shots than most expected, but both goalies finished with save percentages below .800, giving us nine tallies at that final buzzer.
The Oilers don’t care about that line, but between the two teams, they probably care the most about the process that led to that. For one, a sub-standard performance in goal means less when it’s your rookie third-stringer than when it’s your starter, and the Oilers will need more out of Skinner than what they got. Just as importantly, of the just 42 combined shots taken in this game, only 18 were Edmonton’s. That’s just the third time this season that they’ve taken under 20 shots, and it’s happened twice in their last three games. Part of that on Wednesday came from taking the early lead and feeling in control for much of the game, but for a team that is expected to be the offensive dictator in every game they play, they’ll need to assert it more tonight.
Projected Canucks vs. Oilers Lines
| Today’s Edmonton Oilers Lines | Today’s Vancouver Canucks Lines |
|---|---|
| Forwards Mattias Janmark – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Leon Draisaitl – Evander Kane Dylan Holloway – Ryan McLeod – Corey Perry Warren Foegele – Derek Ryan – Connor Brown Defence Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard Darnell Nurse – Cody Ceci Brett Kulak – Vincent Desharnais Starting In Goal Stuart Skinner PO: 4-0-1, 2.59 GAA, 0.910 SV% Season: 36-16-5, 2.62 GAA, 0.905 SV% | Forwards Pius Suter – J.T. Miller – Brock Boeser Nils Hoglander – Elias Pettersson – Ilya Mikheyev Dakota Joshua – Elias Lindholm – Conor Garland Phil Di Giuseppe – Teddy Blueger – Sam Lafferty Defence Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek Carson Soucy – Tyler Myers Nikita Zadorov – Ian Cole Starting In Goal Arturs Silovs PO: 2-1-0, 1.70 GAA, 0.938 SV% RS: 3-0-1, 2.47 GAA, 0.881 SV% |
Neither team has shown their hands in terms of lineup changes yet today, so we’re running under a tentative assumption that they’ll be right back at it with the same groups tonight. Leon Draisaitl is the man to watch in Edmonton, suffering a strain in Game 1 that took him out for a chunk of the second period. He missed practice yesterday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he will or won’t play Friday.
Connor McDavid over 1.5 points
Canucks vs. Oilers Injury Concerns
Just like the lineup, we don’t have a ton of info on the injury front. Once again, Draisaitl remains a focus for Edmonton, but we also have Adam Henrique who practiced with the team yesterday and might be closing in on a return.
The Canucks remain about as healthy as can be on the skater front, and Thatcher Demko is still at least three games away from returning.
NHL Betting Trends
- The Canucks are 6-4 in this head-to-head matchup over the last 10 games. Against the puckline, they have an 8-2 edge, and along the total goals line, this match up has featured four overs, four unders, and two pushes.
- The Canucks are 7-3 in their last 10 games, with a matching record against the puckline. They’ve hit the total goals over in four of the last 10 games.
- The Oilers are 5-5 in their last 10 games. They’ve struggled against the puckline, going 3-7. The total goals over has been hit in seven of 10.
NHL Player Prop Trends
- The Canucks’ scoring has somewhat dried up in playoffs, but a few players are still rolling. Miller leads the pack with nine points in their last 10 games, along with a team-leading six assists and 24 shots. Joshua leads the group in goals in that time with five.
- Vancouver will be looking for a lot more from Elias Pettersson, who has really struggled in recent weeks. He has no goals, four assists, and 12 shots in the Canucks’ last 10 games.
- Connor McDavid leads the way for the Oilers in assists (13) and points (15) in their last 10 games. Hyman is their leader in goals (10). Warren Foegele leads in shots on goal (35), though his total is rather front-loaded.
Canucks vs. Oilers Predictions
- We were bearish on McDavid on Wednesday and that mostly played out, with him notching “only” one assist. His quiet nights are others’ big nights, and usually, they’re followed with his own big nights. I’d take the over on his 1.5-point line, best offered on BetMGM at -140.
- The combination of momentum from the end of the last game and the need to clean up a poor start makes me think the Canucks will come out hot at home Friday. You can get them to be up after the first period at +107 over on Betano, or for at least a tie at -200.
- Pettersson’s cold streak means that his points line is now at 0.5 instead of 1.5. This would be a great night for him to get back on the board. An anytime point is best landed on theScore Bet at -140, while an anytime goal gets you a +250 return, also on theScore Bet.
