The Edmonton Oilers clash with the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their best-of-7 Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center Thursday. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Oilers vs. Stars odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Oilers survived some shaky goaltending to outlast the gritty Vancouver Canucks in 7 games. It was a weird series for C Connor McDavid, who went without a point in 3 of those games. He only had 1 goal in the series and had 5 shots in the last 3 games combined. The Oilers found ways to win without him scoring goals. He had an injury late in the regular season. Is that still an issue? Did Vancouver unlock something defensively? Those questions will be answered soon.
The Stars wiped out the Colorado Avalanche in 6 games. They dropped the first game at home and then won 4 of the next 5. They lost C Roope Hintz to an upper-body injury in the series. He’s listed as day-to-day but has been skating as if he’ll be ready to go. An even bigger issue is G Jake Oettinger left Wednesday’s practice as he felt under the weather. He’s the X-factor of this series, and if he’s shaky at the start of this series, it could be a short one.
Stream the NHL all season on ESPN+, with your team’s out-of-market games, exclusive games, originals and more. Get ESPN+ now!