Edmonton Oilers vs. Dallas Stars predictions
The Edmonton Oilers will visit the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Thursday to take on the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series in the Western Conference Finals. The opening faceoff will take place at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time and will be televised by TNT. Edmonton defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games in their semifinal series, winning the final game against the Canucks 3-2 on the road. Dallas defeated the Colorado Avalanche in six games in their semifinal series, winning Game 6 2-1 on Colorado’s home ice to clinch the series. For the latest NHL news, follow our NHL Experts’ Choice.
edmonton oilers preview
Edmonton will look to wrest home-ice advantage from Dallas with a win on the road in Game 1 on Thursday. Edmonton lost two of three games to Dallas during the regular season, but went 1-1 on the road against the Stars, winning 4-3 in overtime and losing 5-0.
During the regular season, Edmonton had 49 wins, 27 losses, and 6 ties, and was second in the Pacific Division with 104 points. Edmonton averages 3.83 goals per game and averages 29.8 shots per game, ranking second in the NHL in goals scored during the playoffs. Edmonton is scoring 37.5% on the power play. Zach Hyman leads Edmonton with 11 goals during the playoffs. Meanwhile, Connor McDavid is first in assists with 19 and second in points with 21. Leon Draisaitl is second with eight goals, second in assists and first in points with 24.
Edmonton ranks eighth in points per game during the playoffs with 2.75. Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner posted a 36-16-5 record with a 2.62 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in the regular season. In 10 playoff games, Skinner had a respectable 7-3 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and .881 save percentage.
Dallas Stars Preview
Dallas, which won two of three games against Edmonton during the regular season, most recently beating the Oilers 5-0 in early April, will look to finish the series 1-0 on home ice with a win Thursday. Dallas reached the conference finals thanks to a combination of timely scoring from the blue line and goaltending and good defense.
Dallas won the Central Division with a 52-21-9 record and 113 points during the regular season. Dallas is seventh in the playoffs with 2.92 goals per game through 13 games. The Stars are averaging 28.8 shots per game and have scored 29.0% of their points on the power play. Wyatt Johnston leads the way in scoring with seven points and Miro Heiskanen is second with five points. Jason Robertson leads the way with nine assists. Heiskanen is second with eight assists and is the points leader with 13 points, while Robertson is second with 12 points.
During the playoffs, Dallas was fourth in goals allowed per game with 2.39 per game. In the regular season, Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger had 35 wins, 14 losses, and 4 ties with a 2.72 goals allowed average and a .905 save percentage. In 12 playoff games, Oettinger had 8 wins, 5 losses, a 2.09 goals allowed average, and a .918 save percentage.
