Back the Oilers to even series with Canucks in second round series of the Stanley Cup playoffs

The Edmonton Oilers were dealt two gut punches on Wednesday night.

Not only did the Oil blow a three-goal lead to lose Game 1 against the Vancouver Canucks, but they also saw Leon Draisaitl get injured midway through the contest. Draisaitl did return to play the third period, but he was absent from practice on Thursday and his status is questionable for Friday’s Game 2.

Nonetheless, the Oilers are a -125 on the road on Friday.

They may have needed to erase a three-goal deficit, but the Canucks were full-value for their win in Game 1. It took a bit for Vancouver to find its form, but the Canucks took over the contest once they did.

Edmonton only registered eight shots on goal in the final two periods of Game 1 and the Canucks held Connor McDavid without a shot on target. It was a defensive masterclass from a team that improved in that area with each passing week in the regular season.

As impressive as that performance was and as well as Vancouver has played throughout these playoffs, it’s hard to envision the Canucks playing at that level again in Game 2. That’s no slight at Rick Tocchet’s team, they deserve plenty of respect, but rather a comment on how hard it will be to keep Edmonton at bay.

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While everyone talks about Edmonton’s elite power play, the Oilers also created more high-danger scoring chances and expected goals at 5-on-5 this season.

There are questions to be asked about Edmonton’s goaltending, but Stuart Skinner bounced back nicely in Round 1 and I’m happy to trust him to do it again in this situation.

As long as Draisaitl is able to suit up, I think the Oilers are worth a bet at -130 or better for Game 2 on Friday evening.

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