Oilers vs. Avalanche series preview: Odds, picks and best bet

The Colorado Avalanche have spent practically the whole 2021-22 NHL season atop the oddsboard. The Avalanche had been +475 Stanley Cup favorites to begin the marketing campaign and by no means actually budged throughout the common season. 

Regardless of a minor wobble right here and there, the Avalanche’s standing as the very best staff within the NHL was by no means actually challenged. The Florida Panthers ran roughshod by means of the common season, nevertheless it was all the time obvious that the Cats had one-too-many flaws for that success to be replicated within the playoffs. The Avalanche, however, by no means actually missed a beat, whilst they had been coping with a bunch of accidents to key gamers like Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and Devon Toews. 

Oilers vs. Avalanche sequence odds

Odds offered by BetMGM

Collection moneyline: EDM (+200) vs. COL (-250)

Collection unfold: EDM +1.5 (-110) vs. COL -1.5 (-110)

Oilers vs. Avalanche sequence preview

Colorado’s journey by means of the primary two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has not appeared all that dissimilar to their efficiency within the common season. The Avs imposed their will on the overmatched Nashville Predators in a four-game sweep in Spherical 1 after which handled dispatched a robust St. Louis Blues staff in six video games in Spherical 2.

The victory over the Blues additionally put to relaxation some playoff demons for the Avalanche, who had been eradicated within the first or second spherical 4 years in a row earlier than this season.

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On the eve of the Western Convention Finals towards the Edmonton Oilers, the Avalanche have shortened to +120, which converts to a forty five.5% probability, in response to implied win likelihood.

All of that will make it look like a visit to the Stanley Cup Remaining is inevitable for Colorado, however there are causes to consider that a matchup with the Oilers received’t be as easy as the percentages counsel. Colorado is -250 to win the sequence and -175 to take Sport 1, however rely out Edmonton at your personal threat.

Whereas the Avalanche’s expertise and depth could win out over the course of a best-of-7 sequence, the Oilers needs to be a dwell underdog on a game-by-game foundation — and it’s not simply due to Connor McDavid.

McDavid’s other-worldly type is actually an enormous a part of the equation, however Edmonton’s general recreation has been trending in the suitable path ever since firing Dave Tippett and changing him with Jay Woodcroft.

The Oilers went 26-9-3 underneath Woodcroft within the common season, which is sweet sufficient for a 119-point tempo over an 82-game season. To place that in perspective: The Avalanche completed this season with 119 factors.

Colorado Avalanche v Edmonton Oilers
Colorado Avalanche v Edmonton Oilers
Getty Pictures

This isn’t to say the Oilers are in the identical tier because the Avalanche, nevertheless it does counsel that the hole between these two groups has closed significantly over the previous few months. 

A part of that shrinking hole is the goaltending battle. Just a few weeks in the past, you’d have sounded a bit loopy when you dubbed Mike Smith because the stronger netminder in a matchup with Darcy Kuemper, however primarily based on present type that's the case. Smith has skated to a .927 save proportion and a +8.8 Targets Saved Above Anticipated (GSAx) by means of 12 video games this postseason, whereas Kuemper has posted a .904 save proportion and a -3 GSAx. 

These numbers could not precisely depict the true expertise degree of Smith and Kuemper, however proper now it’s exhausting to not give the sting to Edmonton’s ageless marvel, particularly since Kuemper appeared a bit out of types throughout the enterprise finish of Spherical 2 towards St. Louis.

It's a requirement to win the goaltending battle when you’re going to have an opportunity to upset a heavy favourite just like the Avalanche, however with Smith trending up and Kuemper trending down, that activity has develop into a bit of simpler for the Oilers. 

The Avalanche are the favorites on this sequence — and to win the Stanley Cup — for a cause. However with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in type and the goaltending wanting prefer it may favor the Oilers, there are sufficient paths to success accessible for a guess on the Oilers to tug the upset.

Greatest guess: Edmonton Oilers to win the sequence (+200) — BetMGM

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