Best NHL Playoff Bets
With just four teams remaining in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, for our best NHL bets we are only going to focus on the Western Conference Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars.
The Oilers avoided disaster when they nearly saw a 3-0 lead go into the third period in Game 7 on Monday night in Vancouver, after the Vancouver Canucks scored two goals in a span of 3 minutes, 57 seconds to make things a bit tough for the Oilers over the final five minutes.
The Stars came out victorious against a strong Colorado Avalanche team, holding them to just three goals in three games in Colorado. Jake Ottinger continues to play well and the team has great depth overall.
Dallas has had the advantage when it comes to rest, at least as of late, but this series has the makings of a legendary battle.
Edmonton vs. Dallas (-125)
The Edmonton Oilers have just two days of rest between Game 7 against Vancouver and Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals in Dallas. There’s always the “rest vs. rust” debate in a scenario like this, but I think the Dallas Stars will benefit greatly from four days of rest between games. Dallas had a very tough seven-game series against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, in the first round, but I’m hoping that challenge pays off in the long run for them.
One clear advantage the Oilers have in this series is special teams. Edmonton currently leads both power play percentage (37.5%) and penalty kill percentage (91.4%), but the Stars have done a great job of stifling the incredibly talented Avalanche on the man advantage. Dallas killed nine of the Avalanche’s 12 chances in the second round, so a stronger penalty kill would give Edmonton a hard time.
Dallas’ biggest advantage in this series is in goals. Jake Oettinger is the much better goalie, with a .918 save percentage, 2.09 goals against average and +5.2 saves above expected. After sitting on the bench as a reserve, Stuart Skinner appeared in Games 6 and 7 for the Oilers and got the job done, but his numbers aren’t quite as good. Skinner has a .881 save percentage, 2.87 goals against average and -2.1 saves above expected. Oettinger is a reliable goalie, Skinner is not.
In my opinion, Dallas has a stronger defensive line. With guys like Miro Heiskanen and Chris Tanev, they have the perfect balance of skill and grit on the defensive end, which they’ve proven throughout the playoffs. Of the four remaining teams, the Stars have the lowest average number of goals conceded, allowing just 2.38 goals per game, and they also have the best high-risk chances at 5-on-5, allowing just 8.94 high-risk chances per 60 minutes.
Edmonton has a ton of weapons with a fearsome offensive potential, and they’ve actually made history in the first two rounds: The Oilers are the first team in NHL history to have three players score 20 or more points in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Leon Draisaitl with 24 points, Connor McDavid with 21 points and Evan Bouchard with 20 points. That said, if any team in the West can stop those three, it’s the Stars.
Beating McDavid and Draiseitel won’t be easy, but at the end of the day, this series is all about the goaltending, and Ottinger is the guy you want.
I think the Dallas Stars will represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Best bets for NHL playoffs: Dallas Stars to win series -125 (-140 to play) | Dallas Stars -1.5 games +170 (+150 to play)
