Dallas Looks To Outshine Edmonton in WCF
NHL Western Final Preview: Stars Favored to Win the West
The Edmonton Oilers will start the best-of-seven series in the Lone Star State after taking down the Pacific Division champion Vancouver Canuck in seven games.
The Dallas Starshave made it through to the NHL Western Conference Final after surviving a six-game series against the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights after falling behind 2-0 to begin the series and then overcoming the pesky Colorado Avalanche after the Avs grabbed an early 1-0 series lead.
The Stars made it to the NHL Western Conference final last season before losing to the Golden Knights. Oddsmakers have established the Dallas Stars as a -135 favorite to win the series. The NHL Western Final preview also has Dallas at -130 on the moneyline to win Game 1.
EDMONTON IS MOVING ON‼️
The Oilers defeat the Canucks in Game 7 to reach the Western Conference finals. pic.twitter.com/MBIRfbtzbb
— ESPN (@espn) May 21, 2024
Records: Edmonton Oilers (57-30-7), Dallas Stars (57-29-7)
Day/Time: Thursday, May 23, 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
Streaming: TNT, truTV, and MAX
Dallas Co-Favorites To Win Stanley Cup
Current Oilers are sixth.
That’s based on a mathematical equation that still has the Rangers are the fourth choice at +360 but ranked number one in our power rankings.
We’ll see how that plays out. Forward Matt Duchene made a comment that solidified how we’ve felt for a long time. The veteran said that the Dallas Stars are the true definition of a team.
We can’t disagree with that because the Stars’ depth is unmatched by any team left in the postseason, which means that Pete DeBoer can roll four lines without blinking.
Over the Stars’ last 10 playoff games, they’ve received three goals from Tyler Seguin and Evgenii Dadonov.
Both are third-line wingers. The blue line production has been tremendous with 16 combined points since game four of the series against Vegas. Defensemen Miro Heiskanen leads Deboer’s team with 13 points in the postseason.
After a few shaky spots in the regular season, goaltender Jake Oettinger has been spectacular starting every game in the playoffs. His 2.09 goals against average (GAA) and .918 save percentage (SV%) have made a massive jump over his regular season numbers of 2.72 GAA and a .905 SV%.
The Stars power play has improved from 24.17% in the regular season (20.98 league average) to 29% in the postseason. Duchene’s comments are spot on, making it difficult to go against Dallas in the series.
Let’s continue our NHL Western Finals preview with a spotlight on the Edmonton Oilers.
How Much Do The Oilers Have In The Tank?
After a long first-round series, we tend to bet on teams with the least amount of rest because they are battle-ready. Meanwhile, their opponent has had a mental break waiting for their next series. That theory should change when it comes to the later rounds when rest means everything.
After the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers were pushed to seven games, the Oilers will only have two full days of rest and much of that will be traveling. To make matters worse, the Stars have had five full days off and a smaller depth advantage.
It will be interesting to see how Kris Knoblauch will use his bottom six with only third-line center Ryan McLeod receiving more than 13 minutes of ice time over the last 10 games.
McLeod seems to be leaning on his top six more than he did in the regular season, which is why the only ed point in the last 10 games is on a goal from Mattias Janmark.
Third-line forward Warren Foegle potted 20 goals in the regular season but has been a non-factor in the playoffs.
We know about Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, and Leon Draisaitl but contributions from depth players will determine they’ll get the better of the game one NHL score today.
Stars Take Series In Six
When making our NHL prediction today we ed how great this time of year is because you can take your time without the constant worry of handicapping eight other games.
The Dallas Stars are +1.80 units in the postseason with the Edmonton Oilers behind them at +0.68. DeBoer’s team took two of three from Edmonton during the regular season, adding to an impressive 40-21 mark over their last 61 meetings and 10-8 since 2017-18.
Dallas is 7-4 as a favorite head-to-head and 6-4 at the American Airlines Center. Our official selection in the series is Dallas because of their knack for shutting down opposing offensive weapons and a massive advantage in goal. That does it for our NHL Western Finals preview, all the best with your NHL pick and parlays.
For NHL scores, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
