Sports Betting

Sports Betting
Stanley Cup Betting - Oilers Resting UpThe Edmonton Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday night by beating the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 2-1 to win their best-of-seven series. The Oilers now must play the waiting game, as the Eastern Conference Finals could go as late as Thursday. So who would the Oilers rather play for the Cup, the Carolina Hurricanes or the Buffalo Sabres? Obviously they aren't saying, and there's very little matchup data from the past season for the Oilers versus either potential Eastern opponent. In fact, Edmonton only played once against Buffalo during the year, and they didn't face Carolina a single time. That one game versus the Sabres came on January 16, and took place at Rexall Place. Buffalo got the best of Edmonton that night, as Ryan Miller allowed only one goal in a 3-1 Sabres victory. Jussi Markkanen was in net for the Oilers and took the loss. Edmonton had been listed as a -150 favorite on the moneyline, while the total had been set at 6.5. Current Oilers starting goaltender Dwayne Roloson played once against the Sabres as a member of the Minnesota Wild during the regular season. Buffalo got the best of that December 11 matchup as well, winning 3-2 behind the netminding of backup Martin Biron. The Sabres were +100 road favorites in that game, while the total was set at 5.5. Both the Sabres and the Hurricanes had better regular season records than Edmonton. Buffalo finished with a 52-24-6 mark, Carolina was 52-22-8, and Edmonton was 41-28-13. As well, while the Oilers scored 256 goals and allowed 251 over the course of the regular season, the Sabres (281-239) and Hurricanes (294-260) had better differentials. All that, though, could be thrown out the window when the Stanley Cup Finals finally get underway. The Oilers defied all expectations by making it to this point, as they were the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference heading into the playoffs. Most figured they would simply be road kill for the Detroit Red Wings on their way to the Stanley Cup. However, the Wings quickly found out that their first-round series wouldn't be a walk in the park. After struggling to win in overtime in Game 1, the Red Wings fell to Edmonton in both Game 2 and Game 3. Another Detroit win in Game 4 tightened up the set, but the Oilers then bounced back with two straight victories to advance to the second round. And it didn't look good for Edmonton early in Round 2, as the San Jose Sharks won the first two games of the series and looked to be on the fast track to advancement. However, a triple-overtime win for the Oilers in Game 3 proved to be the tide-turner, and Edmonton would then win the next three games of the set to move on to face Anaheim. The Ducks series finally saw the Oilers get out to a quick start, as they won Game 1 by a 3-1 margin. Subsequent wins in Game 2 (3-1) and Game 3 (5-4) gave Edmonton a commanding lead in the series. Anaheim showed some life in the series by winning Game 4 by a 6-3 score, but the Oilers shook off that loss and advanced in five games. In 17 postseason games this year the Oilers have an OVER/UNDER record of 6-9 with two PUSH plays. And although Edmonton won't have home-ice advantage in the Finals, they haven't had any trouble winning on the road in the playoffs. In nine postseason games away from Rexall Place the Oilers have managed to pick up a victory six times. Edmonton last played in the Finals back in 1990, when they won their fifth Stanley Cup in seven seasons. That Oilers team, which lacked Wayne Gretzky, went only 38-28-14 during the regular season but got MVP goaltending from Bill Ranford in the playoffs. One more strong set by Roloson could see him follow in Ranford's champion footsteps.
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