Edmonton Oilers (-250) vs Los Angeles Kings (+200)
PICK: Edmonton ML all day LONG! (well at least at home).
I’ve been looking forward to analyzing this matchup. Edmonton has only one home loss (against Colorado 2-1) since March 9th,going 14-1 in during that time. They scored 72 goals and held their opponents to 37 goals. Clearly the mid-season coaching change for the Oilers did exactly what it was supposed to do. Sorry Kings fans but you just don’t have the fire power nor the depth to compete at this level. Edmonton’s fourth line is net positive and will bang and harass Los Angeles’ already lack luster second and third lines. Mike Smith has found his groove and no matter how unorthodox it looks, he’s keeping the puck out of the net. The only concern is the health of Darnell Nurse, but Bouchard, Ceci and veteran Duncan Keith can pick up the slack.
Los Angeles on the other hand struggled, barely finishing above .500 on the road AND at HOME! The Kings points leader Anze Kopitar had a total of 67 points and was -6. Adrian Kempe finished second on the team with only 54 points and a -2. McDavid has more than 54 points on the road alone this year (62 if you’re wondering). The loss of Drew Doughty will weigh heavy on the blue line. Not to say that Edler and Roy can’t handle top tier players but Doughty just brought a sense of calm which will be sorely missed. And when it comes to Special Teams Los Angeles is below the league average in both the power play and penalty kill. Not sure how you can be contenders with those types of stats.
Regular Season Series: Edmonton 3-1
Dec 5th: LA 5 (Quick) @ EDM 1 (Koskinen)
Feb 15th: EDM 5 (Smith) @ LA 2 (Petersen)
Mar 30th: LA 3 (Quick) @ EDM 4 (Koskinen) (SO)
Apr 7: EDM 3 (Smith) @ LA 2 (Quick)
Edmonton Numbers
Home Wins 68% (28-13); Away Wins 51% (21-20)
Home Favorite 74% (26-9); Away Favorite 58% (14-10)
Home 63% Over (25O15U); Away 56% Under (22U/17U)
Home v Pacific 85% (11-2); Away v Pacific 77% (10-3)
Home Favorite +$1,069; Away Favorite -$026
Home PL 46% (19-22); Away PL 44% (18-23)
Los Angeles Numbers
Home Wins 51% (21-20); Away Wins 56% (23-18)
Home Dog 32% (6-13); Away Dog 41% (11-6)
Home 54% Under (21U/18O); Away 61% Under (23U/15O)
Home v Pacific 38% (5-8); Away v Pacific 54% (7-6)
Home Dog -$529; Away Dog +$202
Home PL 54% (22-19); Away PL 66% (27-14)
