Does Leon Draisaitl stay on fire at home?

“Oil change” was a nice headline on NHL.com, because it fits the series between the two oil cities Edmonton and Calgary exactly. After the 5:3 away win in Game 2, the Oilers now have the slight advantage on their side.

However, that doesn’t mean anything as the two teams didn’t take anything from each other on Friday either. 40 to 40 shots, 22 to 22 penalty minutes, one successful power play each and 14 to 13 giveaways. Purely from the numbers, it couldn’t be more even.

But that’s already a big win for Edmonton, who went into this series as the underdogs. To get to 40 shots in Calgary, that speaks for a strong performance. German international forward Leon Draisaitl also put in a strong performance, once again adding a goal and two assists.

With the Oilers vs. Flames, our forecast for Game 3 is not that easy. However, we expect the Flames to fight back again, with goalie Markstrom in particular not being particularly happy with his performance.

Edmonton Oilers – Statistics & current form

It’s been back and forth in this series and what’s especially exciting for fans is that there are a lot of goals being scored. After 15 goals in Game 1, eight total goals have now been scored again in the second duel. It will be interesting to see if the series continues at this pace.

Both teams are certainly capable of it. The Oilers will certainly look for the way forward in front of their own fans. They have no other choice because of their weak defence, but so far it’s working quite well.

Oilers play to their individual strengths

Now it just shows that Edmonton has the two best players in the league in McDavid and Draisaitl. the two already dominated the regular season in points and goals and they are now going straight ahead.

McDavid is already at 20 scoring points and Sagenhafen 14 assists, while Dr Drai is at 15 scoring points and seven goals. As good as Gaudreau and Tkachuk are on the opposite side, they still can’t quite match these two individually.

Oilers need 1-2 hustle from Smith

But to end up winning the entire series, the Oilers will need their goalie Mike Smith. After the dismantling in Game 1, he was back in control in Game 2 and made 37 saves.

If the Canadian manages to do the same again on Sunday, then a 2-1 series lead is even possible. However, since we do not consider Smith to be consistent enough, the odds on the Flames are our preferred betting option for Calgary vs. Edmonton.

Key Players:
G: Mike Smith
D: Darnell Nurse
D: Cody Ceci
LW: Evander Kane
C: Connor McDavid
RW: Kailer Yamamoto

Calgary Flames – Statistics & current form

Twelve goals in two games and still only 1-1 in the series. This is especially surprising for the Flames, who had one of the best defenses (2.0 goals against per game) not only in the regular season but also in the playoffs.

In the Battle of Alberta, they tripled this number on average, which is not very promising. The newly won offence doesn’t help them much either. For Head Coach Sutter it is now a matter of turning a few defensive screws again.

Can the Flames get their defence tight again?

In round. 1 they could always rely on the defence and Jacob Markstrom in the decisive moments. Will they be able to do the same on Sunday in Edmonton or will it have to be 3-3 in the series again?

The Flames should do everything they can not to let the series get to a Game 7, because then everything is possible.  We are already counting on an improvement in their defence, which is why the 15 or eight goals of the first games should not be reached again.

The fewer goals, the better for Calgary

Since we see the Flames ahead in low scoring games (and by low scoring we mean already under 6.5 in this series), that should be their first motto. Secure your own third better and avoid unnecessary give-aways.

Then the odds on Calgary are definitely worth considering for Oilers vs Flames. Since the oddsmakers see both teams as equals, even pure win bets without a handicap have a very good value.

Key Players:
G: Jacob Marktstrom
D: Noah Hanifin
D: Rasmus Andersson
LW: Johnny Gaudreau
C: Elias Lindholm
RW: Matthew Tkachuk

Edmonton Oilers – Calgary Flames Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance

All back to 0. From a best-of-7 we have now landed at a best-of-5 series – this time with the slight advantages for Edmonton, who would have three home games from now on. Still, this series is currently absolutely 50-50 and there is little to predict.

Since the Flames still fired a total of 20 shots more in these first two duels (88:68), we see them ahead for Sunday as well as for the series. Just like against the Stars, that intensity and aggressiveness will pay off eventually.

For Edmonton vs Calgary, betting on the Flames is our number 1 betting option, followed by betting on X2, which still puts a draw in the draw as well. With this balance, that could still come our way at some point in this series.

Edmonton Oilers – Calgary Flames Tip

Game 2 went a little differently than the Flames had planned and it will be interesting to see if the Flames will now change their match plan and go back to being a little more defensive. We are counting on it.

Therefore, betting on both Calgary and under 7.5 goals is an option for Oilers vs. Flames. However, since anything can happen with the total goals in this matchup, we recommend betting on the Flames to win in any case.

The betting alternative for Game 3 is: Draw.