NHL Bet of the Week: Playoff Edition
The Stanley Cup Playoff is off to a terrific start as many series are tied 2-2 with pivotal games coming. This week the Edmonton Oilers are hosting the Los Angeles Kings in game five of their best of seven series. This article will explain why the over 6.5 goals is the best NHL bet of the week.
Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have been over machines all season long with their high scoring style of play. Between Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins the Oilers have three 100 point players and that is not by accident.
Of course the greatest of Connor McDavid can’t be expressed enough, but Draisaitl has totalled another 50 goal season, while Nugent-Hopkins has shattered his career high in points this season. Surprisingly, Zach Hyman has totalled 83 points this season, which is almost double his previous career high.
The Oilers also have a power play that is firing on all cylinders having a 32.4 percent success rate, which was the highest in NHL history. This is where so many of the Oilers goals are scored, because of the style of play they have they draw a lot of penalties, all of which is why you should bet the over.
Kings
While the Oilers have maybe the greatest power play in NHL history the Kings power play has over a 25 percent success rate this season, which is second best in the NHL. The Kings also have had shaky goaltending this season.
The Oilers have also been very below average in between the pipes which is another reason the over should hit this game. The Kings also have one of the best combinations of veteran leadership and young to have a style of play that allows them to take chances, which lead to more scoring opportunities.
Lastly, the Kings tremendous balanced scoring with six players having over 50 points this season. This allows them to always have scoring options even if someone is having an off night. The combination of the league’s two best power plays should be enough for you to trust the over.
Previous Matchups
The first four games in this series have actually had two games under 6.5 goals, with two going over 6.5 goals. However, three of them have gone into overtime, which guarantees another goal to be scored and you can expect similar results in game five.
With this game being played in Edmonton I don’t see the Oilers being held under 3 goals, especially with the poor goaltending from the Kings. With that said, I also don’t see how the Kings don’t score at least 3 as well and overtime is a real possibility for these teams this time around.
Each game this year has seen over 10 penalty minutes between the teams and that should give plenty of time for the two most dangerous power plays in the league to drive up scoring in this one.
Overall, do yourself a favor and bet the over 6.5 goals in this matchup to make some money. There is simply too much offensive firepower to not expect a 5-4, or 6-4 matchup this time around.
