Today's Free Picks for
BEST LINES: Pinnacle -½ +124 Bet365 -½ +120 SportsInteraction -½ +110 5DIMES -½ +120
Posted at 12:50 PM EST.
Regulation only. In the aftermath of Game 4 in which the Oilers blew a two-goal lead, all the heat coming from Alberta's Capital is on the officials. The cries of “goalie interference”, “offsides” and “icing” were heard belligerently on the airwaves into the wee hours of Thursday morning. Those roars have bled into the off day with many in the Oilers organization making it known they disagreed with the “lack” of calls on the ice, from the head coach to the star players. What nobody in the Edmonton dressing room is talking about is how the Oilers so totally took their foot off the gas after playing arguably their best period of hockey in these playoffs. For 20-minutes you could squint and swear it was 1988. Unfortunately, one good period does not make a game and shabby officials or not, the Oilers blew a great opportunity to step on Anaheim's throat. You've got to be cold-blooded in this league and the Oilers weren’t. They also had no answer for Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf. Oilers head coach Todd McLellan admitted as much publicly. Hockey is a funny game that often comes down to bounces. In Game 1, Adam Larsson's game winner went in on a funky bounce from behind the red line. In Game 4, the Ducks got some favorable calls. Over time, bounces usually even out but from our vantage point, the Ducks look ready to take control of this series.
Getzlaf is a killer and he led the Ducks to one of the most impressive periods of playoff hockey we've seen in a long, long time in period two of Game 4. It would have been easy for the Ducks to lie down and die in front of 19,000 frothing Oilers fans, but they didn't. Instead, Getzlaf dictated the play with a goal and a helper, as Anaheim outshot the Oilers 21-5 and more importantly took a 3-2 lead into the third period. The Ducks have outshot the Oilers in every game of this series. It might be easy to forget now, but before the Oilers Game 1 win, the Ducks were on a 12-game home point streak. They were arguably the best team on home ice in the final month of the season. Now after two home playoff losses, a correction is coming, as the Ducks are too big, too physical and too experienced to just let the upstart Oilers run their rink for a third straight game.
The books priced this game pretty much identical to Games 1 and 2 and with the Oilers high profile and success in Anaheim in this series, we can understand how that tag with this crew might look appealing. Plus, the Oilers are just an easy team to like. We get all of it. There was a time this past week where the Oilers actually moved into position as Stanley Cup favorites in Vegas. That word spread like wildfire across the country, as the Oilers are now "Canada's Team" in these playoffs (sorry Ottawa, you were never considered) and they are receiving all of the attention that comes with that. We have no doubt the Oilers' time will come but the Ducks time is now. Anaheim’s strong will and outstanding talent cannot allow the Oilers to come in here and steal another one. We’re betting on it.
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Our Pick
ANAHEIM -½ +124 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.48)