Edmonton Oilers vs. Vegas Golden Knights Game 1 Prediction, NHL Playoff Odds
For the second time in three years, the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers will meet in the second round of the playoffs. Both teams are coming off Game 6 victories, with the Golden Knights dispatching Minnesota and the Oilers getting past L.A. for a fourth straight year.
Vegas is a slim -135 favourite to win Game 1 on the NHL odds, with the total set at 6.0.
Oilers vs. Golden Knights NHL Betting Odds
These teams split the season series, each picking up a home win and a road win. Edmonton won the final two games. This is a rematch of a second round matchup in 2023. The Golden Knights won that series in six games and eventually went on to win the Stanley Cup.
This series is opening as a straight pick’em on the NHL futures board, although the favoured exact series result is an Oilers win in six games at +400. The biggest long shot is a Vegas sweep at +1200.
Leon Draisaitl is a fairly large favourite to lead the series in goals at +240, followed by Connor McDavid at +600. That makes sense given Draisaitl has 44 goals in 80 career playoffs games, including six goals in the first two games of Edmonton’s 2023 series against the Golden Knights.
If you’re looking for a futures play, both teams are about middle of the pack when it comes to winning the Stanley Cup, with the Oilers at +525 and Vegas at +650.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers looked like they were in major trouble when they dropped the first two games of their series against L.A., but they battled back with four straight wins. Of course, it was McDavid (2G, 9A) and Draisaitl (3G, 7A) who led the charge. Edmonton also made a switch to Calvin Pickard in net after Stuart Skinner allowed 11 goals in Games 1 and 2. Pickard wasn’t outstanding, but he did enough to win all four of his starts and he was certainly better than Skinner, so he should get the start against Vegas in Game 1.
While a lot of this series will come down to the play of McDavid, Driaisaitl and Pickard, you can’t overlook Evan Bouchard as an X-factor. Bouchard was a key reason Edmonton made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last year and his play will have a huge impact on this series. Keep in mind, Bouchard had seven points (4G, 3A) in the first round against L.A., while the six Minnesota defencemen Vegas faced had a combined six points (1G, 5A).
Vegas Golden Knights
A lot of people (me included) expected Vegas to potentially sweep Minnesota in the first round, but the Wild gave the Golden Knights everything they could handle in a tough six-game series. Vegas’ long playoff history made the difference in the end as they won the final three games, all by one goal, including two in overtime. Tomas Hertl (3G, 2A) and Jack Eichel (1G, 4A) share the team lead in points.
William Karlsson has the potential to be a series breaker for the Golden Knights. Karlsson only had a goal and an assist in the first round, but he ended the series on the loaded top line with Eichel and captain Mark Stone. That line was important in off-setting Minnesota’s top line which had dominated the first half of the series. You can expect head coach Bruce Cassidy to go back to Karlsson, Eichel and Stone to neutralize the threat of McDavid and Draisaitl.
EDM
VEG