Oilers vs. Avalanche prediction, total: Goals aplenty once again

After winning an 8-6 thriller in Game 1, the Colorado Avalanche showed the hockey world something else en route to a 4-0 win on Thursday night. While we associate the Avs with their juggernaut offense and up-tempo style, Colorado played a different style to snuff out Connor McDavid and the Oilers in Game 2.

Colorado held the Oilers to just 1.06 expected goals and seven high-danger scoring chances on Thursday night and even if the Avs didn’t generate a ton of opportunities for themselves, the looks they did get were quite good. Colorado dominated the slot and created odd-man rushes, which is what you need to do if you’re going to play a counter-attacking style to insulate your netminder.

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What the first two games showed us is the Oilers’ best chance to get back into this series is betting on themselves in a wide-open contest. That is usually a death sentence against the Avs, but the Oilers are one of a few teams that can succeed in an up-and-down contest with Colorado, especially with the goaltending battle favoring Edmonton.

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Pavel Francouz was really strong in goal for the Avs on Thursday night, but he’s still the B-side in a goaltending matchup with Mike Smith. With the Oilers at home and looking to push the pace, this game should swing back toward the Over after a quiet Game 2.

The play: Oilers-Avalanche Over 7 goals.