Pinnacle +112 BET365 +105 Sportsinteraction +105 888Sport +105

Posted at 1:00 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Vancouver +105 over Edmonton

10:08 PM EST. OT included. Game 1 lived up to the hype, as the Canucks stormed back from a 4-1 deficit to take home a 5-4 win over the Oilers, who have spent the last two days having to answer the same old questions about why they cannot finish when it matters most. It would be most interesting to be a fly on the wall in the Edmonton dressing room, but considering what the Oilers were saying before the series about wanting to get “revenge” on the Canucks after suffering a 4-0 regular season sweep, the words spoken in private after that Game 1 collapse would have been most interesting.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the status of Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who missed significant time in Game 1 and did not practice yesterday. Draisaitl is considered day-to-day, and he missed eight minutes in the second period of Game 1, and while it may have been a coincidence, that frame was where the Canucks were their most dominant, outshooting the Oilers 11-to-4. Draisaitl finished the game, but he was obviously not right, and the Canucks also doubled up the Oilers in shots 8-to-4 in the final 20, potting three goals in less than five minutes. Both Draisaitl and Connor McDavid finished that game at a -1, while the Oilers' top defense pair, Codi Ceci and Darnell Nurse, were a -3.

While there is a long way to go, if the Canucks happen to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup, their ability to not lay down and die after going down 4-1 is going to be one of those moments in which the talking head who gave them no chance in this series will gleefully look back on and say, “that was a moment the Canucks became a championship team,” while for the Oilers, it will be another lost moment with the greatest hockey player on the planet going home early, again.

Perhaps the Oilers rally here and flex their supposed superior offensive talent, but even if they do, the Canucks have shown they can outlast that barrage and then take advantage of the weak spot on the back end. The Canucks are a versatile team that won a grind ‘em out battle with the Predators, who blocked more shots than we can count, and now they have beat the run-and-gun Oilers at their own game. The pressure on the Oilers here is palpable, and with the Canucks being offered up as an underdog again, we are going to come right back on them again in Game 2, and we hope to see you at the pay window.

Sherwood

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Pinnacle +110 BET365 +105 Sportsinteraction +105 888Sport +105

Posted on May 7 prior to Game 2. Odds subject to change.

Carolina to Win the Series

The Rangers have a 1-0 series lead, they are the President’s Trophy Winners, they have home ice advantage throughout these playoffs, yet the oddsmakers have them at just -125 or thereabouts depending on where you shop to win this series over the Hurricanes. A team with that kind of pedigree on paper should be a 2-1 favorite in a spot like this, yet the Rags are not. Furthermore, the Rangers are an underdog in Game 2, at home, and the list goes on and on as to why a team in their position should not be, yet here we are. Why?

In Game 1, the Rangers took five penalties, but the Hurricanes could not post a powerplay marker. By contrast, New York made the ‘Canes pay for their two minor penalties by potting two PP goals and winning that contest 4-3. This is a results-based business, and wins are wins, but just ask yourself for one second why the Rags took five penalties in Game 1. It’s because they were chasing the Hurricanes all over the ice, as Carolina dominated the play 5-on-5.

To the uninclined, it’s got to be so enticing to back the Rangers considering their current advantage in this series, but we must warn that there are no free lunches in this business and rarely do you find a quality outfit in the discount bin at this point of the season. The books are begging, we repeat, BEGGING for all the Rangers action they can take and that’s a big red flag. If the Rangers post a +2 in the special teams game again tonight, there is a chance that they win this game, but if they do not, the Hurricanes are very likely going back to the Tar Heel state tied 1-1.

Sherwood

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