Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks Prediction: Can Brock Boeser, Canucks Start Hot in Game 5?
Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks Prediction: Can Brock Boeser, Canucks Start Hot in Game 5?
The Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers will meet in Vancouver for Game 5 of the second round of the NHL playoffs tonight. This series has been a back-and-forth and close affair, and maybe the best series of the playoffs so far, as we are tied at 2–2. The wins have flip-flopped each game and no game has been decided by more than one goal in the series so far. That intensity has led up to Game 5 tonight where the Canucks will try and defend their home ice to take a 3–2 series lead. What should we expect in this game?
Oilers vs. Canucks GAME 5 DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: May 16, 2024
- Start Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: TNT
Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks Game 5 Prediction
Goaltending has not been a strong suit for the Oilers in this series. Stuart Skinner started the series by allowing five goals on 24 shots in Game 1. He followed up by giving up three goals on just 19 shots in Game 2 (84% save rate). In Game 3, Skinner gave up four goals in his first 15 shots faced, which forced the Oilers to make a move and put Calvin Pickard in the net. Pickard only faced three shots for the rest of that game and did not give up a goal. He followed that up by allowing just two goals on 21 shots in Game 5, good for a 90.5% save rate. Pickard is now confirmed for Game 5 for the Oilers and will attempt to build on his strong result from Game 4.
On the other side, the Canucks are still riding with Arturs Silovs in net, as Thatcher Demcko and Casey DeSmith are still injured. Silovs had little NHL experience before starting in net for the Canucks in the playoffs, but he has gone above and beyond and has looked great for them for the most part. The Oilers have started to get to him, though, as he has given up three or more goals in all four games and only has one game in this series above a 90% save rate. The Oilers have made it a point to get as many shots on goal against the inexperienced goalie, and it has mostly paid off to this point.
Seeing Calvin Pickard and Arturs Silovs starting in the net in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs was not on my bingo card this year. These are the two worst goalies still in the playoffs, and they are going up against two hot offenses. The Oilers featured one of the highest-scoring offenses this season that had the most successful power-play, while Brock Boeser for the Canucks has been nearly unstoppable.
With the current goalie situation, I expect both offenses to try and get as many pucks near the net as possible to make the inexperienced goalies as uncomfortable as possible as quickly as possible. That being said, I think taking the first period to go over one and a half goals is a safe bet. This bet hit in the first three games of the series before we saw just one goal in the first period of game four. I think this trend continues to go over in this series and we see at least two goals in the first frame tonight.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks Game 5 Pick
Pick: Canucks / Oilers First Period Over 1.5 Goals -130 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.