NHL Best Bet: Tuesday, May 31st

Game 1 of the Western Conference finals gets underway on Tuesday night as the Colorado Avalanche will play host to the Edmonton Oilers. The series winner will advance to the Stanley Cup finals and goals might be the theme between these two teams. Our resident U.S sports expert Ej Garr is turning right toward the total for Game 1 expecting 7 goals to be scored with some value attached to the action

NHL Playoffs Best Bet May 30th

• Colorado vs Edmonton: Over 7 Goals (OT included)

Odds as of 09:30 pm May 30, 2022. Odds may now differ.

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Colorado vs Edmonton Best Bet

June 1, 01:00 (UK time)

The line setters are expecting goals in this series and so am I! I knew we were not going to have a chance to a see a 6.5 on any total throughout this series so when the straight 7 hit the board there was no shock.

In addition, Unibet is offering 2.18 for our troubles so even if they do get stuck at 3 – 3 with an extra session we will just get our bet returned to use those funds again later. Granted, when the two teams played their 3 regular-season meetings the under was 2 – 1 as the Avalanche took wins in 2 of the 3 affairs. The Oilers scored 6 goals in the final meeting at home on April 22 but that is all just history.

I don’t normally put a lot of stock in that stuff because what was happening in March and April is simply not going to impact the weight of the conference finals. I will tell you right now that no one in either locker room is thinking about those games so we don’t need to make a stink about it.

The stink needs to come from the way these two teams are playing as they arrive at this juncture of the tournament. Edmonton played 5 games against Calgary in the previous round and I think they just scored again and again! The Flames were unable to prevent the Oilers from scoring at least 4 goals in every game they played and even in the one game they lost to Calgary they still scored 6 times. When you score 25 times in a 5-game series I think you can work out the average goals per contest, right?

So, how will the Oilers’ offence match up against Colorado’s defence? Edmonton’s offence ranks 7th in the NHL scoring 3.5 goals a night and the Av’s defence gives up 2.8 goals per game ranking them 9th. On the other side of that ledger, the Avalanche offence is ranked 4th in the league scoring 3.8 goals per game while the Oilers defence might be the worst unit on the ice. Edmonton ranks 18th in the NHL surrendering 3.1 goals per game and Mike Smith certainly can get lit up for some goals. 

Mike Smith has had quite a career although this is one of his best showing in the post-season. Smith’s last 3 playoff appearances before this season were complete disasters of an epic proportion. His last campaign for Calgary in 2019 saw him masterfully go out of the playoffs with 1 win as the Flames went down in… well, flames! 

Smith’s last two years in Edmonton were both post-seasons to forget as he accumulated as many wins as you, me, and your left shoe! NADA! He was 0 for 5 in 5 outings and was a big reason why the Oilers got swept out of last year’s post-season. 

Now, his confidence is definitely in a better spot and we all know how well the Oilers played at home this year with Smith in the net. Sparkling numbers to show but this is the true test to come having an Avalanche offence with everyone healthy with home-ice advantage. Everyone except Darcy Kuemper that is, although it appears he will be suiting up for Game 1. Kuemper suffered an eye injury through the opening in his mask and had to come off the ice to get treatment.

I certainly suggest confirming if he is a go or not, however, because Pavel Francouz might see the ice if Kuemper can’t lace up the skates. Francouz played well this season backing up Kuemper earning a 15 – 5 – 1 record with a GAA of only 2.55 with a pair of shutouts.

Now, I haven’t gotten into the offensive firepower both of these teams will be putting on the ice and that is another 1,000 words on top of this. The rankings are all well and good but watching these two teams play has been thrilling to this point. Edmonton is just grooving and for some reason when teams come to Denver the goals seem to pour in the nets. I haven’t met an Avalanche Over at home I didn’t like in 3 years! 

I don’t trust Mike Smith nor Darcy Kuemper (If he goes) to shut down these offences in the least and we are turning to the Game 1 total to cash our first ticket in the series. Avs 5 – 4 Oilers is my call of the night so I hope they provide one heck of an entertaining affair for us to enjoy. Not just tonight but throughout this series barring any significant injuries to any high-profile names.  

• Selection: Over 7 Goals
• Best odds: 2.18 (Unibet)
• Stakes 4/10

Odds as of 09:30 am May 30th, 2022. Odds may now differ.

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