NHL Betting Preview: Canucks vs. Oilers Game 6

Photo credit:© Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

2 months ago

The comeback Canucks strike again as the Vancouver Canucks defeat the Edmonton Oilers, coming back from two one-goal deficits and taking a commanding 3-2 series lead. In this NHL Betting article, you’ll be up to date with all the current Canucks odds and trends from this series to help you win a little bit of extra money this playoff season!

Canucks vs. Oilers Odds

Vancouver Canucks Moneyline Odds: +160
Edmonton Oilers Moneyline Odds: -190
Puck Line Odds: Canucks +1.5 (-160), Oilers +1.5 (+135)
Game Total: 6.0 goals (over -120, under +100)
Time/Date: May 18th, 7:00 PM PST
TV: Sportsnet, CBC

All odds courtesy of bet365.

Last Matchup

Game 5 was yet another remarkable, late-game comeback as the Canucks took their first lead of the game when it mattered most, in the dying seconds of the third period. This marks the fifth game of this playoff run where Vancouver tied it late or took the lead late in the third period.

J.T. Miller, who blamed himself for his poor positioning on the Evan Bouchard late goal in Game 4, sure redeemed himself in Game 5. Elias Lindholm shoots the puck to the slot area, where it goes off Elias Pettersson’s skate and off the post. That’s when J.T. Miller hops on the rebound and buries it top shelf. Thankfully this was the result for the Canucks, as this was their best game of not only the series but the entire first two rounds. They had better stats and analytics in every category than the Oilers, so to lose that game would have stung for Canucks fans.

Vancouver managed to do something in Game 5 that hasn’t been done all playoffs long: hold the Oilers without a powerplay goal. And it wasn’t because of a lack of opportunities; Vancouver took five penalties. However, they made an adjustment to focus more on keeping the play around the perimeter and always keeping constant pressure on the puck carrier, minimizing their space to maneuver around the offensive zone.

Just like Kris Knoblauch’s Game 3 changes helped the Oilers win Game 4, Rick Tocchet’s Game 4 changes helped the Canucks win Game 5.

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Check out Daily Faceoff for all the updates regarding the line combinations and goaltenders for Tuesday’s matchup.

Handicapping the Canucks (7-4 SU, 9-2 ATS, 5-6 O/U)

That was a full momentum swing after that Game 5 victory. Confidence must be oozing through those players after they finally dominated a game that they won for more than one period. Now Vancouver gets to go back on the road, where they’ve lost just one game this playoff run (Game 4 against the Oilers, when they allowed Bouchard to score in the dying seconds).

Vancouver has put an emphasis on being the most physical team in this series, and they’ve followed through with that notion. The Canucks have outhit the Oilers in all five games and have 213 hits to Edmonton’s 146. The five top forwards and two top defencemen have missed practice and morning skate in two straight games since returning to Edmonton. They’re clearly banged up with the physicality coming from Vancouver’s back end and might be in trouble tonight.

Rick Tocchet’s lineup changes paid dividends, as all three forwards made heavy impacts. Phil Di Giuseppe scored a big goal for Vancouver. Nils Höglander looked like the regular-season version of himself with his board play. Vasily Podkolzin was noticeable on the forecheck and backcheck. If Vancouver can get the same level of production from the depth players and have all the momentum carrying over from the emotional ending of Game 5, the Canucks have an excellent chance to punch their ticket to the Western Conference finals.

Handicapping the Oilers (6-4 SU, 2-8 ATS, 7-3 O/U)

I honestly don’t know how to handicap this Oilers squad. What should the Canucks expect from them tonight? Are the top guys like McDavid and Draisailt going to be fired up and pissed off that they were so limited last game that they’re going to come out guns-a-blazing? Or has the physicality gotten to them, and they feel too defeated after a Game 5 loss?

Now, I know that players are never going to be excited for the post-game scrums, especially after a loss, but those interviews from McDavid and Hyman just looked like two defeated men. You know? Sometimes, you can hear hope and optimism in players’ voices that they can come back and make this a series, but that’s not what I heard from them.

One thing I do know is that McDavid will have to will his team to get across the finish line. He has been shut down against the Miller line at 5-on-5 for most of this series. They allowed Vancouver to line-match Miller and McDavid in Games 3 and 4; I think Knoblauch will make some adjustments to open up McDavid more for tonight’s game.

I wonder what that room is like. There’s probably a little lack of confidence, especially with the decision to switch goaltenders, but we’ll get to that later.

Canucks vs. Predators Injury News

No new Oilers injury news. Adam Henrique was out for Game 1 and returned in Game 2, playing 11:38 of ice time. He missed each game since then and will also miss Game 6 this evening.

No new Canucks injury news. Thatcher Demko remains out with a knee injury. The report on his return hasn’t really changed; it has now updated from sometime after Game 4 to now eyeing a Game 7 return. Demko finally took shots at morning skate today – an encouraging sign to see them ramping up his workload.

Projected Lineups

No lineup changes for the Canucks tonight. Rick Tocchet’s new lines worked wonders together, which was a significant risk given he toyed around with three of the four Canucks forward lines. It’s another #ArtyParty in Edmonton tonight.

No lineup changes for the Oilers skaters. However, we will see a goaltending change. After stopping 32 of 35 Vancouver shots, Calvin Pickard will take the bench spot, with Stuart Skinner getting the nod tonight. This decision confuses me. Pickard has had a .915 S% in his two starts, while Skinner had a .789 S%.

I guess you have to live and die with the one that brought you through most of the season, right? That has to be his mindset. Otherwise, I’m lost.

PRESENTED BY BET365

Team Betting Trends

Vancouver is 8-0 on the puck line in their last eight games as an underdog.
Vancouver is 4-1 over their last five road games against Edmonton.
Edmonton is 1-9 on the puck line in their previous 10 games as a favourite against Vancouver.
Edmonton is 7-3 to the over in their last 10 games as a favourite.

Player Prop Betting Trends

It’s playoff time, and that’s when Leon Draisaitl comes to shine. He has a point in each game of this Oilers playoff run, with at least two points in eight of the 10 games. Against Vancouver, he has points in 14 of his last 15 games, totalling 23 points.
Nikita Zadorov has cleared in all five games of this series, averaging 2.4 shots on 4.6 shot attempts. In his last four road games this playoffs, he’s cleared this 1.5 line in three games, averaging 2.0 shots on 3.8 shot attempts.
Another game, another betting preview, another day talking about a Brock Boeser point prop. Throughout the playoffs, he’s averaging 1.1 points per game in 11 games. In nine games against the Oilers this season, he’s registered 13 points. He was held off the scoresheet last game but has yet to go two straight games without a point during this run. Boeser is also a road warrior, registering a point in all five Canuck road playoff games, totalling nine points.

Best Bets for Canucks Army

Brock Boeser doesn’t miss more than one game in a row this playoffs. So we’ll be taking Brock Boeser to register a point at -160 odds.
I thought whoever won Game 5 would move on to win the series. Luckily for Canucks Army, that was the Vancouver Canucks. This, along with the body language from the Oilers players post-game and their lack of practicing the last two days leads me to take the Vancouver Canucks Money line +160 odds.
Because I think you can’t contain the man for multiple games in a row, and with my projection of Knoblauch line-matching him away from Miller, we’ll be taking Connor McDavid 4+ shots on goal at -110 odds.

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