Vancouver’s J.T. Miller is due for a big game with just one goal over the last three games.
Monday has just one game on the slate with Game seven between the Oilers and Canucks with the winner advancing to the Western Conference Finals. It would be the Canucks first Conference Finals appearance since 2011 while the Oilers look to make it their second during the Connor McDavid era.
It’ll be a tight game with everything on the line and the winner aiming to be the first Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup in 31 years.
We look to stay hot as the Best Bets have started to roll with a 19-12 record over our last 31 picks.
All betting lines are from BetMGM and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Bet: Canucks ML (+135), Canucks Over 2.5 goals (-125), J.T. Miller anytime goal (+185)
The Canucks have traded wins with the Oilers in every game of the series with Game seven being their time to respond and win on home ice. It’ll be a tough game to call as both teams will be desperate to keep their seasons alive but the team that will come out on top will be the one with better goaltending.
The Oilers have found themselves once again in a goalie controversy with regular starter Stuart Skinner struggling so far this postseason with three or more goals allowed in seven of his nine playoff starts.
Backup netminder Calvin Pickard was summoned to hopefully give the Oilers a boost in momentum but didn’t make the desired impact and split both his starts while allowing five goals.
Pickard may be the better option but in such an important game, you’ll want to feel confident in your starting netminder and the Canucks have that with rookie sensation Arturs Silovs.
The Latvian netminder has started nine playoff games which is five more than how many he started this season. He has done his best to keep his team in the mix with a 5-4 record, a goals against average of 2.89 and a save percentage at .898 that is quite impressive for a 23-year-old.
Vancouver has been forced to overcome injuries for most of the playoffs and will have to do it again with their top playoff scorer Brock Boeser likely out with a blood clotting issue.
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They will need a big game from J.T. Miller, who has done everything he can to help his team win with nine assists and 12 points this postseason. He started off the series strong with five points through the first three games but has since just scored one goal.
He will need to bounce back in a big way and should if he is lined up with Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland like reports say. Joshua has been an impact bottom six player so far this postseason with four goals and eights points while Garland is waiting for his moment to shine with a pair of goals and four points.
The lines are still very much in question with Boeser’s absence but Miller should find opportunities on the powerplay that is due for a breakthrough with just three goals so far this series.