The Edmonton Oilers open up their 2022 playoffs tonight as they take on the Los Angeles Kings in game 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Tonight is the night where the games have meaning. For the last couple weeks the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings have been on a collision course to meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In the regular season the Edmonton Oilers had the Kings number going 3-1-0 in their 4 meetings. Unfortunately the playoffs is a different animal. The Kings a built different than their Cup winning days. They are no longer a big tough team that can bully the Oilers around.
I think these teams match up well with each other in toughness with Edmonton Oilers having maybe a slight advantage. The skill on the other hand is in favor of Edmonton. The top two lines of the Oilers has much more skill than LA.
The Oil On Whyte staff made their predictions for this series and we all agreed the Edmonton Oilers should beat the Kings. Of the four predictions two said Oilers in 6 and the others Oilers in 5. The Oilers are favored and they should be.
Phil wrote a great article breaking down these two teams and how they compare to each other. That article can be found here. He takes a look at the three aspects of the teams, forwards, defense and in goal.
The biggest problem for the Kings is they are missing their number 1 defenseman in Drew Doughty. This is a huge loss for the Kings. Doughty has the ability to take over a game. He has the ability to shut down McDavid in one end then score a nice goal on the other. Missing him is why the Kings are such underdogs in this series.
The lack of defensive depth for the Kings and surplus of offensive depth for the Edmonton Oilers is why I think this series will be over in either 4 or 5 games.
Edmonton Oilers Projected Lines
Kane-McDavid-Pujujarvi
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) May 1, 2022
Hyman-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Foegele-RNH-Ryan
Brassard-McLeod-Kassian
Nurse-Ceci
Keith-Bouchard
Russell-Barrie
Kulak-Broberg
I could see Oilers going 11-7 with Brassard and Broberg not playing.
Los Angeles Kings Projected Lines
Athanasiou – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Iafallo
Grundstrom – Lizotte – Brown
Lemieux – Byfield – Kaliyev
Andersson – Vilardi – Kupari
Edler – Roy
Anderson – Durzi
Maatta – Spence
Moverare – Stecher
Bjornfot – Strand
Quick / Petersen
Playoff Game #1
Date: 5/02/2022
Opponent: Los Angeles Kings
Location: Rogers Place
Time: 8:00 PM
Live Stream: FuboTV
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Betting Odds: WynnBET
The Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings betting odds on WynnBET have Kings as +1.5 point underdogs tonight, while the Oilers are the favorites at -1.5. Edmonton is also favored with a Moneyline odd of -188 on the night while Los Angeles is sitting at +168. Tonight’s game is expected to be high-scoring with an over/under of 6 goals on the night.