Vancouver Canucks vs Edmonton Oilers Playoff Series Preview

It's an all-Canada matchup in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs as the Vancouver Canucks move on to face West-Coast rivals the Edmonton Oilers.

This is new ground for Vancouver who haven't been to the second round since 2020 when they were dropped by Vegas in seven games. For the Oilers, it's their third trip in as many years and the fourth time in the McDavid era. Only once have they gone through.

Here's a look at everything you need to know for this best-of-seven series.

Visit our NHL betting hub daily for expert picks and analysis for every NHL playoff game!

2024 NHL Playoff Previews: Second Round

(Related Link) 2024 NHL Playoff Series Prices

Vancouver Cancuks vs. Edmonton Oilers Hub

Vancouver Canucks Vs. Edmonton Oilers Schedule

*If necessary

We've got a pretty standard schedule here, at least in terms of the dates. There's a two-day break between Games 4 and 5, but we don't have any back-to-backs or longer breaks. We'll see if there's anything funny when it comes to puck drop. At the time of writing, we've only got start times for the first set of games in Vancouver. 

Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers Series Winner Odds

Odds as of May 5

Again, I want to draw your attention to Vancouver's lack of experience in this situation. It's the first time in three years they've hit the second round of the playoffs. And while getting through Nashville was a great achievement it wasn't without luck. A lot of luck.

Vancouver held a PDO (in all situations), above 109% three times in this series. Anything above 100% is considered lucky. When the Canucks goaltending went cold (0.910SV% or lower) their shooting percentage spiked to 19%. That's not going to last against a battle-tested Edmonton side that's got two of the best players in the game.

I agree with the oddsmakers here. Vancouver has been riding a wave of luck all year and it's going to come crashing down. 

Vancouver Canucks Vs. Edmonton Oilers Total Games Odds

Odds as of May 5

Edmonton>>>Nashville. The Canucks barely won the xG battle in all situations with +50% three times (one of those times it was 50.15%) in the opening round. Not to mention that Nashville's power play was horrifically bad, scoring twice in 22 opportunities (9.1%).

Edmonton's xG in each of their four wins ranged from 58.76% to 64.64%. Not to mention their power play was effective 45% (!!!) of the time against LA with nine goals on 20 opportunities. And it's not like Vancouver all of a sudden knows how to kill penalties, they were 17th during the regular season at 79.1%.

All of that to say, I don't believe this will be a long series. I'm looking at Edmonton in five games.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers Series Prediction Odds

Odds as of May 5

Oilers winning the series at 4-1 has +350 odds. Excellent. With how the series total market was priced I figured Oilers 4-1 would have held longer odds at +500 or something. But +350 is still $35 in profits on a $10 I was going to make before I saw the odds!

Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers 2023-24 Betting Results

Vancouver dominated this season's series. They scored more goals in the first game than Edmonton scored across four! But the playoffs are a different animal altogether.

Notable Player Performances

Quinn Hughes: If the Canucks are going to score enough to win this series, Quinn Hughes is going to be the catalyst for that offensive play. The Canucks defenseman put up eight points (a goal and seven helpers) in four games against Edmonton this season. 

So far in the playoffs, Hughes has five points (all assists) in five games. 

Connor McDavid: In 27 career games against Vancouver since the 2018-19 season, McDavid has an insane 49 points (18 goals and 31 helpers). The phenom from Richmond Hill leads the league in playoff production with 12 points in five games. So he's just as ridiculously productive now as he's ever been.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers Odds To Win NHL Stanley Cup

Odds as of May 5

No surprise here. Edmonton typically enters the regular season as one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. But some of that shine tends to fade when the playoffs roll around and their suspect goaltending is plain for everyone to see.

This year, Skinner holds a passable 0.910SV% and 2.59GAA. That's all Edmonton needs 'passable goaltending'. They've got it. 

Expert Prediction: Edmonton Oilers (-260), Oilers Win Series 4-1 (+350)

I've spent the entire piece building these bets block-by-block. Edmonton is expected to get through the Canucks and I don't see a reason to disagree. The Oilers are much better than the Predators.

Edmonton had the fourth-best offense but only the 10th-best shooting percentage. That's a sustainable top-end offense output. The Oilers have an insane power play that's converted seemingly at will during the regular season (26.34%) and in the playoffs (45%).

And it's not as if Vancouver's got their game-changing goalie to stop Edmonton. Thatcher Demko might not be back till halfway through this series. That's way too late. Edmonton end this series quickly.

Historical Betting Trends: Last 10 games 

A lot of noise will be made of Vancouver sweeping the regular season series this year and that the OVER is 2-1-1. But Since 2021 this series is an ever 5-5 and the UNDER is 5-4-1.