Face-off: 2030 ET, 20/04/2022
Arena: Rogers Place
Edmonton Oilers go in search of a third straight victory which will move them to the brink of securing a playoff place.
Victory for the Dallas Stars will be equally important as they look to strengthen their own position in the wild card battle.
In a game with everything on the line, home ice could be the key here and victory for the Oilers by two goals at 7.0 is the first of our Edmonton Oilers vs Dallas Stars predictions.
Edmonton Oilers Odds
The Oilers sit in second in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings with two games in hand.
But crucially they are seven points clear of division rivals the Vegas Golden Knights and the Vancouver Canucks with a game in hand on both teams.
Victory will send the Oilers nine points clear and within touching distance of securing a playoff place as the Golden Knights and Canucks can only hit a maximum of 10 more points.
Edmonton goaltender Mike Smith is unbeaten in his last two starts and is riding a two-game shutout streak after blanking the Nashville Predators and Vegas in back-to-back games, making a combined 69 saves.
Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl insists the run-in of the season is the perfect time to fine tune the small details at both ends of the ice for the rigours of the postseason.
“I think everything at this time of year,” Draisaitl said of the late-season adjustments.
“We obviously want to be confident in our game in all areas and I think away from the puck we’re really dialling it in there, especially the last two games.
“It’s a good time to get those little details all settled in and I think we’ve done a good job.”
The Oilers will come out strong on the back of two big wins and can win the first period with both teams scoring at 8.25 in the NHL odds.
Dallas Stars Odds
Automatic playoff qualification is virtually over for Dallas.
They trail the St Louis Blues for third in the Central Division with just six games remaining so their focus will be on solidifying their position in the wild card places.
They trail the Nashville Predators for the first wild card by two points with a game in hand and are four points ahead of Vegas and Vancouver, who have both played a game more.
The Stars will look to bounce back following the disappointing 6-2 loss to the Canucks on Monday which was a missed opportunity to put more daylight between the two.
Coach Rick Bowness is calling for a much-improved performance from Dallas in Edmonton.
“Half our guys [showed up], the other half didn’t,” Bowness said.
“Puck management was terrible at both blue lines. Guys couldn’t handle the puck, bad decisions, kept turning the puck over at the wrong time, at the wrong places and it cost us.”
Both teams know how big a victory here could be and so the Oilers to win with over 6.5 goals at 3.25 is added to our NHL predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
EDMONTON 4-0 Vegas
Vancouver 6-2 DALLAS
Season head-to-head: Dallas 4-1 Edmonton, Dallas 5-3 Edmonton
