The clash between the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers will close Friday’s action in the NHL playoffs. Los Angeles wants to bounce back and get halfway to the conference semi-finals. The away side searches for another success and revenge for a defeat in Game 1.
The Kings opened the series with a win, but they were not competitive enough in the latest match. They need to improve their display in front of the home crowd to defend the home-ice advantage. On the other hand, Edmonton showed significant improvement compared to the series opener. The visitors want to pick up where they left off and be successful on the road.
Los Angeles Kings – Will they improve their game?
The Kings opened the series very well with a 4-3 away win in Edmonton, but Game 2 was a completely different story. Although they held the opponents in the first period, they couldn’t do anything to provide another upset in this tie. As a result, they suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat, and the momentum is now on the opponent’s side. Despite having 30 shots on goal, Los Angeles couldn’t find the back of the net. The Kings need a significant improvement to defend the home ice and grab the lead in the series.
Trevor Moore has contributed the most to the Kings’ offense with three points, including a goal and a pair of assists. Phillip Danault and Alex Iafallo have two points each, while Brendan Lemieux also managed to get his name displayed on the scoresheet in the playoffs. On the other hand, Jonathan Quick made appearances between the pipes in both playoff games. He has a .880 save percentage, allowing 4.50 goals per contest.
Expected Line-Up: Jonathan Quick, Tobias Bjornfot, Matt Roy, Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault
with best odds
Edmonton Oilers – Can they produce another excellent display?
The Oilers managed to get things right after losing the opening match of the series in front of their crowd. They were more than convincing in Game 2, celebrating a 6-0 victory. It was a complete performance, and Edmonton goes to LA full of confidence. They had 36 shots on goal on Wednesday evening, while the Oilers also won 35 faceoffs, seven more than their rivals. Edmonton wants to continue to ride on the wave of success and become a more dominant side in this series.
Connor McDavid has led the Oilers’ offense with a total of four points, distributed to one goal and three assists. Evan Bouchard has also logged three assists, while Evander Kane has a pair of goals and an assist. Leon Draisaitl managed to find the back of the net twice, while Darnell Nurse, Ryan McLeod, and Kailer Yamamoto have two points each. Regarding the goaltending, Mike Smith has been excellent between the pipes in Game 2, and that performance improved his save percentage to .938
Expected Line-Up: Mike Smith, Tyson Barrie, Evan Bouchard, Connor McDavid, Warren Foegele, Leon Draisaitl
Expert Pick #1 – Under 6.5 @-120
Although the Oilers almost pushed the previous match over the margin on their own, I don’t expect to see more than six goals in this one. It’s going to be a real playoff game, and my first pick for this matchup will be the Under.
Expert Pick #2 – Oilers to Win @-145
The visitors managed to recover from losing Game 1, and they had a dominant performance on Wednesday evening. They might continue in the same fashion in this one, and Edmonton could take the lead in this series. I’ll back them as my second bet.
Expert Pick #3 – Kings Under 2.5 @+120
Los Angeles failed to score more than two goals on the previous three occasions on the home ice against Edmonton. It’s a risky pick, but we could see a similar outcome on Friday evening as well. Nevertheless, I’ll go with it at the plus money odds.
