PREMIUM
Rogers' Friday ICE BREAKER (Total) >>> 72-55-3 Last 25 Days!
(NHL) Edmonton vs. Anaheim,
Total: 5.00 | -139.00 Over
Result: Win
Total: 5.00 | -139.00 Over
Result: Win
The set-up: The Anaheim Ducks opened their series with the Edmonton Oilers having not lost in regulation over an 18-game span (15 wins and three OT losses). However, that streak came to a screeching halt in Wednesday's Game 1 at Honda Center, as the Oilers won 5-3, seizing a 1-0 lead in this second round series. Edmonton was 31-43-8 last season with its 70 points representing the third-fewest in the entire NHL. However, the Oilers went 47-26-9 this season and their 103 points were only two fewer than Pacific Division-leader, Anaheim.
Edmonton: Hart Trophy candidate and the league's scoring-leader, Connor McDavid, was the player Anaheim intended to focus on in this series. However, second-year winger Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists in Edmonton's Game 1 win and scored six goals in five regular-season games between the teams. Defenseman Adam Larsson matched his point total from his previous 23 games by scoring two goals and setting up another on Wednesday. "He's definitely not Bobby Orr, but (Wednesday) he sure looked good on that last one, skating," head coach Todd McLellan told reporters, referring to Larsson's game-winning goal. Fellow Swedish blue-liner Oscar Klefbom, who has recorded 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in his last 11 contests, extended his point streak to three games after notching an assist in back-to-back matches.
Anaheim: Captain Ryan Getzlaf scored and set up a goal in Game 1 to give him 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) in his last 23 overall contests, while increasing his total to nine (two goals, seven assists) in six meetings with Edmonton. After dealing with injuries to All-Star Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen, Anaheim's defense corps has another on its hands as coach Randy Carlyle deemed Kevin Bieksa (club-best four assists) "doubtful" for Game 2 because of a lower-body injury. Vatanen has missed two games with an upper-body injury, with Carlyle telling the Orange County Register that the playoff situation "has not allotted us enough time for him to be 100 percent."
The pick: The Oilers may be in the playoffs for the first time since 2006 but allowing Edmonton to take a 2-0 lead in this series, may all but doom the Ducks. Anaheim's Game 1 loss was the team's first defeat of the postseason and first regulation loss since March 10. However, I feel that the Under is the safest bet. Make it a 9* play.
Edmonton: Hart Trophy candidate and the league's scoring-leader, Connor McDavid, was the player Anaheim intended to focus on in this series. However, second-year winger Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists in Edmonton's Game 1 win and scored six goals in five regular-season games between the teams. Defenseman Adam Larsson matched his point total from his previous 23 games by scoring two goals and setting up another on Wednesday. "He's definitely not Bobby Orr, but (Wednesday) he sure looked good on that last one, skating," head coach Todd McLellan told reporters, referring to Larsson's game-winning goal. Fellow Swedish blue-liner Oscar Klefbom, who has recorded 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in his last 11 contests, extended his point streak to three games after notching an assist in back-to-back matches.
Anaheim: Captain Ryan Getzlaf scored and set up a goal in Game 1 to give him 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) in his last 23 overall contests, while increasing his total to nine (two goals, seven assists) in six meetings with Edmonton. After dealing with injuries to All-Star Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen, Anaheim's defense corps has another on its hands as coach Randy Carlyle deemed Kevin Bieksa (club-best four assists) "doubtful" for Game 2 because of a lower-body injury. Vatanen has missed two games with an upper-body injury, with Carlyle telling the Orange County Register that the playoff situation "has not allotted us enough time for him to be 100 percent."
The pick: The Oilers may be in the playoffs for the first time since 2006 but allowing Edmonton to take a 2-0 lead in this series, may all but doom the Ducks. Anaheim's Game 1 loss was the team's first defeat of the postseason and first regulation loss since March 10. However, I feel that the Under is the safest bet. Make it a 9* play.
