The Los Angeles Kings will have the opportunity to avenge last year’s first-round loss to the Edmonton Oilers in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. But they will once again be the heavy betting underdogs against an Oilers team coming into the postseason scorching hot. Bettors are seeking out the best Kings-Oilers Game 1 bet and can find value in the over/under total.
Kings-Oilers Best Bets: Go With the Over in Game 1?
- Moneyline: Kings +170, Oilers -200
- Spread: Kings: +1.5 (-165), Oilers -1.5 (+140)
- Total: Over 6.5 (-110), Under 6.5 (-110)
The Kings have faced off against the Oilers three times during the regular season, splitting the contests. But they have lost the last two. Only one of those four games has gone over the total, but there is still reason to believe Game 1 will go over 6.5 goals (-110 on DraftKings). New users at DraftKings can also earn $150 in bonus bets with any 5$ bet on an NHL moneyline!
It is no surprise that Edmonton’s offensive attack centered around Connor McDavid is elite. They rank first in the league in goals (325), goals per game (3.96) and power play percentage (32.4%). But the Kings are no slouches on the offensive side, either, also ranking top five in the league in all of those categories.
Neither team boasts a particularly strong penalty kill. Edmonton ranks 20th in the league in penalty kill percentage (77.0%), while the Kings rank 24th (75.8%).
The goaltending matchup is still up in the air on the King’s end, but all signs point to Trade Deadline acquisition Joonas Korpisalo getting the nod over Pheonix Copley. Since coming over to Los Angeles from Columbus, Korpisalo has been a revelation in the crease, going 7-3-1, with a .921 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average.
The Korpisalo-Copley dilemma comes as a bit of a surprise after Los Angeles entered the season with Cal Peterson backing up longtime netminder Jonathan Quick.
“To see both of them enter our team and have permanent stays for different reasons has been pretty rewarding,” coach Todd McLellan said, per AP. “It has been an extremely odd year to start the year with two goalies that we thought we were going to run with until this time of the year and end up with two different ones. It doesn’t happen often, and if it does, it’s usually due to injury.”
Edmonton also went through some changes to their goaltender situation. They signed Jack Campbell in the offseason to replace Mike Smith following his dismal showing in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But Campbell also failed to get the job done in the early going of the season. Thankfully, the Oilers have gotten some solid production from Stuart Skinner since he took over in the crease.
Still, neither Korpisalo nor Skinner has proven themselves to be elite goaltenders in the league, and they could both very well struggle when facing an elite offensive attack in the first round.
The Kings have been able to hold McDavid and the Oilers in check for the past two matchups, but expect a different kind of pace in Game 1. Go with the over in the first game of this intriguing series.
Best Kings-Oilers Game 1 Bet: Over 6.5 Goals (-110 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
