Calgary Flames Vs Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers Need To Win On The Road
Looking at the regular season stats previously noted, it appears the most important aspect of this series is home ice advantage. In the four games during the regular season the home team won every game.
This means if the Edmonton Oilers want to win this series they will need to overcome the past and win at least one game on the road. We know they can win on the road in the playoffs as they beat the Los Angeles Kings twice in LA of three games. For the Calgary Flames they only won 1 of the 3 games in Dallas in their first round series.
Edmonton Oilers Stars Will Need To Be The Best Players Again
In the first round the Edmonton Oilers stars had to play against the likes of Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault. These two players are in the top of the league when it comes to shut down centers. The Calgary Flames do not have anyone like that, so McDavid and Draisaitl will have a bit more space as there will not be a shutdown center shadowing them.
The Calgary Flames do have better defenseman than the Kings do though. So for the Oilers to have success they will need to have prolonged offensive zone time and wait for the Flames to breakdown. Having players like Hyman and Kane make offensive zone time easier to hold because they can win puck battles.
If the Edmonton Oilers win the puck possession battle I think they will win this series. It seems obvious, but the Flames are dangerous when they get the cycle going. If the Oilers have the puck whether it be in the offensive zone or neutral ice the Flames aren’t wearing down this team and getting chances.
A big question mark about this series is the health of Leon Draisaitl. If he is hurt bad enough to have a large effect on his game the Edmonton Oilers are in trouble. The Oilers one, two punch at center is what makes this team scary if that is gone the Oilers don’t stand much of a chance against the depth on Calgary.
My Prediction
This series is not an easy one to predict. These are both two excellent team that had to battle through a seven game series to get here. I think this series will be another long one for both these teams.
I am going to go with the Oilers in 6 though. I think the Flames will have trouble controlling Connor McDavid. The way the Oilers played in game 6 and 7 will carry over into this series and the Flames will not be able to handle it.