Edmonton Oilers vs. Anaheim Ducks Game 7 Preview
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
When: Wednesday, May 10, 2017, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Edmonton Oilers (+110) at Anaheim Ducks (-130); total: 5.5 – view all NHL lines
TV Broadcast: NBCSN
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Betting on the Edmonton Oilers (+1.5)
Back with a vengeance are the Edmonton Oilers, who ran away with a lopsided 7-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday to force a deciding Game 7 this Wednesday.
The Oilers fought for their playoff lives like mad and it seemed to have reignited just about everybody outside of leading Hart Trophy candidate Connor McDavid, who saw his three-game goal-scoring streak come to an end. Leon Draisaitl had a hat trick along with two assists, while and Letestu was one goal shy of equalling Draisaitl’s production for the evening to more than make up for McDavid’s quiet outing.
Cam Talbot was also spectacular in front of the net once more, stopping 34 of Anaheim’s 35 shots. That’s still quite a number shots that he’s faced, though, which has become one of the more glaring problems for Edmonton. Talbot has seen 35 or more shots from the Ducks in all but one game this entire series, including a staggering 64 in Game 6’s double-overtime defeat.
To make matters worse for the Oilers’ defense, a couple of their blueliners in Andrej Sekera (lower body) and Oscar Klefbom (upper body) are questionable for Wednesday’s rubber match. Both were out of action on Saturday, with the team having the likes of Eric Gryba and Griffin Reinhart thrusted into Game 6 for their series debuts.
The last knock on Edmonton has got to be its experience in winner-take-all playoff contests. Milan Lucic – nine career Game 7s with four goals and two assists during his time in Boston – is basically the team’s only true veteran when it comes to clutch postseason situations, let alone with in-depth playoff experience in general prior to this season.
Betting on the Anaheim Ducks (-1.5)
The Anaheim Ducks failed to close out the series in Game 6, and now they face the unenviable task of trying to win another Game 7 showdown in the playoffs.
Every hockey fan knows that the Ducks choke away their playoff run when it comes to the deciding battle. They’ve lost four-consecutive Game 7s in the playoffs, and all of them have even come on their own home ice.
Captain Ryan Getzlaf was a part of all these shortcomings, and he needs to shake off his point-less performance from Game 6. He’s been Anaheim’s rock in this series, with a combined three goals and six assists over the two contests prior to Sunday’s loss. At least fellow forward Rickard Rakell still has a hot hand, being the only Ducks player to light the lamp on Game 6 to give him a four-game goal-scoring streak.
Despite the Ducks’ disappointing finishes in do-or-die playoff matches, it’s still worth noting that the Oilers themselves suffered a worse Game 7 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2006 at the Stanley Cup Final.
In turn, Anaheim’s standout duo of Getzlaf and Corey Perry, who have a combined 16 games of Game 7 experience, must do all they can this Monday to finally get over that Game 7 hump. If Game 5’s unprecedented third-period comeback is any indication (Perry came up huge in that contest), the Ducks’ never-give-up attitude may just be enough to end their four-year curse of heartbreak at the Honda Center.
Writer’s Prediction
The Ducks (-130) move on to the conference finals with a thrilling 4-3 victory.
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