NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings Game 4 Odds Preview

When the Los Angeles Kings stunned the Edmonton Oilers and won Game 2 of their first round series in the NHL playoffs in overtime, it felt like the Kings could potentially take control of the series once it shifted back to their home ice.

However, Edmonton’s top three of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman made sure that wasn’t the case as they powered the Oilers to an easy 6-1 win in Game 3 on Friday to take a 2-1 series advantage. Edmonton is a sizable favorite on the Oilers vs Kings odds for Sunday night’s Game 4.

The Oilers wasted no time putting their stamp on Game 3, scoring three times in the first period — one each from McDavid, Draisaitl and Hyman — to essentially put this one out of reach. The Kings did get on the board five minutes into the second with a Drew Doughty goal to make it 3-1 but Evander Kane responded two minutes later which felt like the gut punch for Los Angeles.

Edmonton added two more goals, both on the power play, in the third period to put this one away and make anyone who took the Oilers in this series for their NHL predictions feel pretty good.

To be fair, the series is far from over and if the Kings can steal Game 4 and even up this series as it heads back to Edmonton, then they’ll give themselves a chance. But, it’s just hard to expect that to happen considering that two of the games in this series have been noncompetitive blowouts in favor of the Oilers and the other one went to overtime after a big Oilers comeback.

Kings Need to Limit Oiler Scoring Chances

It sounds obvious and is much easier said than done but it’s true: If the Kings are going to have any chance in Game 4, they need to prevent Edmonton’s shots from getting to Cam Talbot. The Oilers outshot Los Angeles 40-28 in Game 3 while also outblocking the Kings 18 to 11. That just isn’t going to fly if the Kings are going to go against the Oilers vs Kings odds and win as +125 moneyline underdogs (with Edmonton as -145 moneyline favorites).

Los Angeles is the team that needs to constantly be down on the ice blocking Edmonton’s shots because they don’t have the offensive firepower to match up with the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl and Hyman. The Kings not only need Talbot to be much better than he was on Friday but they need to help him out a bit, whether that’s with preventing shots from reaching him or taking fewer penalties to give Edmonton so many man-advantage situations. The NHL lines like the Oilers so much because the Kings keep giving one of the league’s best power plays tons of opportunities.

Edmonton scored three power play goals in seven chances in Game 3, good for a roughly 43% conversion rate which is par for the course for the Oilers in this series but completely unsustainable for the Kings if they want to have any chance at advancing to the second round. It’s not easy to avoid committing penalties against such a talented team yet Los Angeles needs to figure out how to do so. It’s hard enough to stop the Oilers at even strength — so doing so down a man or two — while playing from behind — is impossible.

Skinner Has Been Solid

What gets lost in all of the hype and excitement around the Oilers, particularly with their scoring prowess, is how solid Stuart Skinner has been. Has he been making tons of highlight saves and shutting out the opponent, especially in this series? No, but the Oilers don’t need him to. They just need him to make the saves he should and not let in any easy/fluke goals that have doomed Edmonton in recent playoff runs.

The Oilers vs Kings odds reflect that Edmonton seems to have finally found a decent netminder. Skinner had his best game of the playoffs on Thursday, stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced and eliminated any (albeit slim) chance of Los Angeles coming back. Edmonton probably will never win a game because of Skinner — they rise and fall with their offense and, when the offense doesn’t produce, the defense usually isn’t good enough to compensate — but having a capable goalie is enormous for the Oilers.

Now, could Skinner be good enough to help the Oilers win Stanley Cup games should they get there? Maybe not. However, people said the same thing about Vegas’ Adin Hill until he helped lead the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup last year. You never really know.

Keep Going With Edmonton And The Over

The Oilers on the puck line (+170 at -1.5 goals) are a very intriguing bet for great value as is the over (even-money at 6.5 goals). When Edmonton wins, they tend to win big and getting to almost double your money for a 2+ goal win for a team that scores as much as the Oilers do is a tough opportunity to pass up. The same goes for the over because the over has hit in each game of this series. There’s no reason to think that’ll stop now.

For NHL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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