Looking for some goals? Like, lots and lots of goals? You’ve come to the right NHL playoff series, as the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche are more than willing to oblige.
After combining for 14 goals in a wild Game 1 of their Western Conference Finals best-of-7 series, the league’s most prolific offenses in this year’s postseason return to the ice for Game 2 on Thursday night. Once again, Colorado is a sizable home favorite. And once again, bookmakers have put a huge total up on the Oilers vs Avalanche odds board — in part because the Avs will be without their No. 1 goalie. Darcy Kuemper, who was knocked out of Game 1 with an upper-body injury, has been ruled out for Game 2.
Will Kuemper’s replacement, Pavel Francouz, and Edmonton’s Mike Smith — who was yanked in Game 1 — and earn their money Thursday night? Or will guys named MacKinnon, Landeskog, McDavid, Draisaitl and Kane once again burn out the bulbs on the goal-scoring lamps?
Props.com breaks down Oilers vs Avalanche odds and action ahead of Thursday’s Game 2.
NHL Playoff Odds
| Matchup | Moneyline | Puckline | Total | Series Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emonton Oilers | +145 | -155 | 7 (Over -130) | +300 |
| Colorado Avalanche | -165 | +135 | 7 (Under +100) | -400 |
Odds via DraftKings and updated as of 5:25 p.m. ET on June 2.
Edmonton Oilers vs Colorado Avalanche (8 p.m. ET/TNT)
Best-of-7 series: Colorado leads, 1-0.
Playoff results to date: Edmonton 8-5 overall (4-3 road); Colorado 9-2 overall (4-2 home)
Game 1 recap: The Avalanche built leads of 5-2 and 7-3, then held off a furious Edmonton rally in the third period to hang on for an 8-6 victory. Thirteen different skaters lit the lamp, with only Colorado left wing J.T. Compher (two) tallying multiple goals. Also, 25 players registered at least one point, with Edmonton’s McDavid and Colorado’s Cale Makar each finishing with a game-high three points.
Game 1 betting recap: The Avalanche closed as a consensus -195 favorite. Landeskog’s empty-net goal with 22 seconds remaining cashed the puckline (-1.5 goals) at +125 odds. The game sailed Over the 7-goal consensus total.
Key stat: Edmonton (58) and Colorado (51) lead in the NHL in total playoff goals. The teams also rank 1-2 in goals per game (Avalanche 4.64; Oilers at 4.46).
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Slap Shots
Oilers: Despite the Game 1 setback, Edmonton is still 22-6-1 in its last 28 games (6-2 last eight). … The Oilers have lost consecutive contests just once in the playoffs (Games 3 and 4 vs. Los Angeles in Round 1). … Smith was pulled Tuesday after allowing six goals on 25 shots in barely 26 minutes of action. His replacement, Mikko Koskinen, stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced. Smith is expected back in net to start Game 2 … Kane tallied the first goal of the series and now has a league-best 13 postseason goals. Nobody else has more than nine. … Edmonton has four of the top 13 goal scorers in the playoffs in Kane, Zach Hyman (9), McDavid (8) and Draisaitl (7). Hyman has goals in six straight games (seven total). … McDavid (29) and Draisaitl (28) continue to rank 1-2 in playoff points. They share the league lead with 21 assists each.
Avalanche: Colorado had lost back-to-back home games prior to Wednesday’s win. The Avalanche are outscoring opponents 25-20 at home and 26-13 on the road. They have scored 5+ goals in six of 11 postseason games. … Kuemper was forced to leave Game 1 in the second period with an unspecified upper-body injury. Francouz finished the game in net and surrendered three goals on 21 shots. … MacKinnon had a goal and an assist in Game 1. He’s now tied for second in playoff goals (9) and tied for seventh in points (15), right behind Makar (16 points). … The Avalanche are now 3-1 against Edmonton this season with a 16-15 goals edge.
From the Penalty Box
Both teams went 1-for-2 on the power play in Game 1. For the playoffs, Edmonton is 12-for-41 on the power play (29.3%); Colorado is 11-for-31 (35.5%). The Oilers have killed 36 of 43 power plays (83.7%); the Avalanche have killed 20 of 28 (71.4%).
Betting Nuggets
- EDM is 20-7 in its last 27 games vs. Western Conference teams
- EDM is 17-5 in its last 22 games on Thursday
- COL is 56-13 in its last 69 home games (4-2 in playoffs)
- COL is 31-12 in its last 43 playoff games as a favorite (9-2 this year)
- Over for EDM is on runs of 5-1 overall and 4-0 on the road
- Over is 4-1 in COL’s last five overall
- Home team is 6-1 and favorite is 7-0 in the last seven Oilers-Avs clashes
- COL is 4-0 in its last four when hosting the Oilers
- Over is 6-2-1 in the last nine series meetings in Denver
Oilers vs Avalanche Odds and Action
UPDATE 6:25 P.M. ET THURSDAY: Perhaps because of the news that Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper (injury) has been ruled out for Game 2, Colorado’s moneyline odds have shrunk from -175 to -165 less than two hours before puck drop. Edmonton’s odds, however, are holding firm at the opener of +145. The Avalanche are still drawing the majority of the action, but in the last 5.5 hours, it’s gone from 81% tickets/87% money on Colorado to 65% tickets/60% money on the home team.
Oilers vs Avalanche odds on the puckline have adjusted from Colorado (-1.5) +125/Edmonton (+1.5) -155 to Colorado +135/Edmonton -155. Puckline bettors at DraftKings lean slightly toward the host, as 58% bets/63% dollars on the Avs -1.5 goals.
The total has been bouncing back and forth between 7 and 7.5, with various juice moves along the way. It’s currently sitting at 7/Over -130 on split action of 85% tickets on the Over and 56% money on the Under.
UPDATE 12:45 P.M. ET THURSDAY: BetMGM installed Colorado as a -175 favorite for Game 2 in Denver, with Edmonton at +145. Those moneyline have not budged, even though BetMGM reported four hours ago that 81% of all wagers and 87% of all money was on the host Avalanche.
The puckline has shifted from an opener of Avalanche (-1.5) +130/Oilers (+1.5) -160 to Avalanche +125/Oilers -155. Betting action at BetMGM again favors Colorado, but much less dramatically than the moneyline, as 52% of early puckline tickets and 67% of early puckline money is on the Avs.
The total hit BetMGM’s board at 7/Over -120, then jumped to 7.5/Under -135 about 90 minutes ago before dialing back to the current price of 7/Over -130. As expected, tickets (88%) and money (92%) are heavy to the Over.
UPDATE 3:30 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY: Colorado hit DraftKings’ odds board late Tuesday night as a -190 home chalk in Game 2, with Edmonton catching +155 on the other side. Oilers vs Avalanche odds quickly dropped to Colorado -180/Edmonton +155, then moved back to the opener before shortening to Colorado -185/Edmonton +150. The moneyline is now back to Colorado -180/Edmonton +155, with early tickets (79%) and cash (89%) heavy to the Avalanche.
The puckline opened Colorado (-1.5) +135/Edmonton (+1.5) -155, and it has bounced around from as high as Colorado +145/Edmonton -165 to as low as Colorado +120/Edmonton -140. Current puckline odds are Avalanche +125/Oilers -145, with 73% of the tickets and 93% of the dollars on Colorado -1.5 goals.
The total opened at 7 flat (-110 both ways), then made the leap to 7.5/Under -125 about two hours ago. It’s now 7.5/Under -130. Not surprisingly, 88% of the tickets and nearly all the dollars (98%) are siding with the Over early on.
