The Oilers Face an Avalanche of Trouble in Game 3
A Colorado win on Saturday night is basically a knockout blow to Edmonton and a likely an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. The Oilers are absolutely desperate here and must play better on both ends of the ice to have any chance to win.
The Edmonton Oilers face off against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference Finals on Saturday night.
To say this is a critical game for the hometown Oilers is an understatement. Down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series, this is probably a "must-win" if Edmonton is to have any chance of upsetting Colorado and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals.
After going on a scoring frenzy in this year's playoffs, the Oilers' high-octane offense was completely shut out for the first time in Game 2 – an ugly 4-0 loss. Worse for Edmonton, goaltender Mike Smith and the maligned defence seem to have no answers as to how to stop or even slow down the explosive Avalanche scorers. Edmonton absolutely must make adjustments and then will need to execute a new game plan out on the ice to have any shot to turn things around and regain momentum in this series. A Colorado win is basically a knockout blow and a likely ticket to a possible sweep.
The puck drops at Rogers Place in Edmonton at 6:00 pm MST.
Spreads.ca lists Colorado as a 1.76 favourite, which returns 2.10 on a winning bet on Edmonton. The game total is 7 goals.
Prediction (powered by Pointspreads.ca):
The NHL season is a long one, with inevitable ups and downs. But come playoff time -- skill, talent, and determination will shine. We are now seeing why Colorado has been a season-long favourite to win the 2021-22 Stanley Cup. This team is loaded and balanced.
While it's tempting to wager on the Avalanche to continue onward towards a sweep, we also believe the Oilers have what it takes to give their best effort in this game. So, we see this matchup exactly as oddmakers view it -- The Avs should win, but the Oilers could also surprise us.
Accordingly, we believe the better value is wagering on two players to score goals in tonight's game.
We like two props -- we'll take Edmonton’s Evander Kane to put at least one puck in the net and Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon to do the same.
Note: Of you like Edmonton to win tonight's game, check out the BOOSTED ODDS which are 25 percent higher on the Oilers. The BOOSTED ODDS are from 2.10 to 2.75! Check it out at SPREADS.CA.
