Facing a crucial Game 3 at home on Friday, the Edmonton Oilers are in a challenging position, trailing the Los Angeles Kings 0-2 in their opening-round NHL Stanley Cup Playoff series. The Kings narrowly won Game 1 with a 6-5 score and then secured a dominant 6-2 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday. For the Oilers to keep their Stanley Cup aspirations alive, winning Game 3 is essential. Edmonton held a strong 25-13-3 record at home during the regular season, while Los Angeles had a less impressive 17-19-5 record on the road.
According to SportsLine consensus odds, the Oilers are favored to win Game 3 with -148 money-line odds, while the Kings are underdogs at +124. The total number of goals expected (over/under) is set at six.
For Edmonton to mount a comeback in this series, their key players must perform exceptionally. The team boasts arguably the world`s top player in Connor McDavid and fellow elite talent Leon Draisaitl. McDavid achieved over 100 points for the eighth time in his career despite missing 15 games this season. Draisaitl, despite missing 11 games, led the NHL with 52 goals. In the first two playoff games, McDavid has recorded four points, and Draisaitl has three, including two goals. These two stars are central to the same-game parlay picks for Friday, generated with assistance from the SportsLine Projection Model. Notably, all three prop bets included in the parlay have received top 5-star ratings from the model.
The SportsLine Projection Model runs simulations for each NHL game 10,000 times, providing top-rated prop bet selections. The model assigns up to five stars to various player prop bets. These picks are valuable for constructing potentially winning parlays, including same-game parlays on betting platforms.
Kings-Oilers SGP (+406)
- Connor McDavid Over 2.5 shots on goal (-130): 5 stars
- Connor McDavid Under 1.5 total points (-125): 5 stars
- Leon Draisaitl Under 1.5 total points (-170): 5 stars
The model predicts that McDavid will take numerous shots against Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, but anticipates a lower point total from him in this game. Specifically, the model forecasts McDavid exceeding 2.5 shots on goal, projecting 3.5 shots. In his last five home games where the Oilers were favorites, McDavid averaged 4.2 shots on goal and surpassed this prop line in four of those matchups. However, concerning points, the model projects the Oilers` captain to finish with just 0.4 total points on Friday, falling below his 1.5 points line. McDavid has finished under his total points prop in five of his last eight games when facing teams with a winning record.
Similarly, the model suggests taking the Under for the total points prop on Edmonton`s other star, Leon Draisaitl. His points line is also 1.5, with the model projecting him to score 0.6 points in Game 3 against the Kings. Draisaitl has gone under his total points prop in four of his last five games against teams with a winning record, averaging 1.2 total points in those contests.
