Game 1 between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings did not disappoint, as the Kings were able to right the ship after an ugly collapse thanks to a fortuitous goal in the final minute from Phillip Danault and earn a 6-5 victory.

The betting prices on sides in Game 2 are currently identical to what they were in Game 1, while the total has risen to 6 after being set at 5.5 in Game 1.

I’ll detail the relevant game notes and outline my favourite betting angles below.

All of the Oilers perceived flaws came to fruition in Game 1 and ultimately were enough to prevent them from earning a win, despite Connor McDavid offering one of the greatest individual performances in recent memory.

Analytically speaking, it was not the worst game from the Oilers, as despite being outshot 21 to 18, they led 11 to 5 in high-danger scoring chances, though that obviously was largely due to the fact Edmonton trailed by several goals for the majority of the contest.

Stuart Skinner certainly was not at his best in Game 1, and it is certainly fair to say the Kings would not have netted six goals if he had offered a more competent performance.

The Oilers did not allow that many quality chances overall, but many of the ones they did give up came in the form of Kings skaters being left unattended in the slot. On a number of occasions what started out as a bad read by one Oilers skater become a full-fledged breakdown as someone else tried to overcompensate, as opposed to sticking to at least taking away the net-front.

The Kings power play was given plenty of opportunities to work, including two lengthy 5-on-3 opportunities, and was able to convert twice. It was logical to believe that the Oilers greatest edge in this series would be their special teams play, but that was not the case in the series opener.

To take a glass-half-full stance on Game 1, it was still an exhibition of just how tough of an out a team with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl truly is. The Oilers were relatively disconnected in all three zones early on, were sloppy defensively, and still made it a game while receiving a poor performance in goal because of how dominant their top offensive stars are.

With Mattias Ekholm sidelined, the Oilers certainly are not a true defensive powerhouse but are still capable of offering a sharper defensive performance than we saw in Game 1. In any game that they are able to defend reasonably well, their elite offensive stars will provide them a chance to win.

It’s not ideal for head coach Kris Knoblauch to have to play McDavid, Draisaitl, and the rest of the Oilers top stars over 20 minutes in every postseason game, but the Oilers superstars being capable of handling such heavy minutes in all close game scripts is important given the team’s lesser depth compared to other contenders.

All four of McDavid’s points were high-quality plays, and he did a tremendous job of driving into dangerous areas versus arguably the league’s best defensive side. Dating back to the start of last postseason, McDavid has put up 46 points over his last 26 playoff games.

At the time of writing, it’s unclear what changes Knoblauch may make to his lineup in Game 2, but he noted to the media Wednesday that Evander Kane and John Klingberg are both options.

My guess is that Kane will be inserted into the lineup to make his season debut, given that the bottom six was not overly effective on Monday. It’s more difficult to assess whether or not Klingberg will get into the lineup, as there’s an argument to be made that Cam Dineen coming in for Josh Brown would be the most logical way to adjust the bottom pairing.

Knoblauch also has a difficult decision upon whether to start Skinner or Calvin Pickard in goal. Skinner offered a performance to forget in Game 1, but it could be a bold move to already switch to Pickard in Game 2 of the playoffs, given that Skinner has far higher upside at his best.

Entering this series, it was easy to make the case that the 2024-25 edition of the Kings was better than the ones that have lost to the Oilers in three straight postseasons, and many of the reasons why were on display in Game 1.

The Kings power play has been much more potent since they added Andrei Kuzmenko at the trade deadline, and it was able to break through twice in Game 1. Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield were both dominant in the final third of this season, and with those two producing as they are, the Kings have three lines capable of doing damage offensively.

While there were numerous positives to point towards surrounding the Kings Game 1 performance, it was a shaky defensive showing from a team that is supposed to be dominant in that regard. The Oilers were able to generate plenty of highly dangerous scoring opportunities after bringing plays up the wall and exposing the slot, though that was much more prevalent when Knoblauch shortened the bench in the third period.

Darcy Kuemper was not overly bad in Game 1 despite allowing five goals on just 18 shots, as several of those goals came after cross-crease passes from McDavid. The only goal he would for sure want back was McDavid’s game-tying goal, as it’s realistic to say that an NHL starter should have the bottom of the net sealed in that situation.

While the Kings are known for their defensive prowess, it seems plausible that the early part of this series could be fairly high-scoring. The Oilers should be capable of defending better than they did in Game 1 and offering stronger defensive zone structure, but the Kings offence still seems to be much improved, and Skinner’s play is a question mark right now.

However, as long as the games are somewhat close in this series, we will see McDavid and Draisaitl continue to play huge minutes in an effort to cover up for the rest of the flaws in Edmonton’s game. McDavid played one of the best games in his career in Game 1, and I believe he will once again be dominant in tonight’s matchup.

As those who follow me in the Action Network App (NicholaskMartin) will have seen, I did see value in betting the over when it opened at 5.5 on Tuesday. Betting the over 6 at -105 would still be my lean, but is not my favorite play on this game at the time of writing.

McDavid is priced at +115 to record two points, and there looks to be value at that number. As outlined, the Kings struggled to prevent him from driving to the most dangerous areas of the ice (14 slot-driving plays), and he was able to make a ton of ultra-threatening passes as a result.

In most game scripts McDavid will likely play huge minutes in tonight’s matchup as the Oilers try to avoid an 0-2 hole, and +115 seems to be a great number to back the game’s best player putting up two points in what could be another high event matchup.