The Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers will drop the puck for Game 3 in their best-of-five Western Conference qualification round series Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. ET at Rogers Place in Edmonton. We analyze the Blackhawks-Oilers NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
This high-scoring series has seen impressive performances by young stars, and one of these teams will be one win away of advancing to the next round come Thursday morning. The ‘Hawks will be the home team Wednesday, so they’ll have last change on faceoffs.
Blackhawks vs. Oilers: Projected starting goalies
Corey Crawford vs. Mikko Koskinen
Crawford registered a 2.77 goals against average and a .917 save percentage in the regular season. He allowed a couple late goals in the Chicago’s opening 6-4 victory. Crawford then allowed a couple – three to be exact – soft goals in Edmonton’s 6-3 win in Game 2.
Koskinen posted a 2.75 GAA and .917 SV% in the regular season. He spelled G Mike Smith in a 10-of-10 performance against Chicago in the regular season. The 32-year-old netminder has made some impressive stops in one-plus games in this series.
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Blackhawks vs. Oilers: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 11:15 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Blackhawks 3, Oilers 2
Moneyline (ML)
Chicago’s 5-on-5 play has been admirable in the series. We’ll throw that into the mix with impressive looks on the power play in Game 1 and in the exhibition against the St. Louis Blues last week. That edges some value into the BLACKHAWKS (+120) camp vs. the favored Oilers (-143) in this one.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The goal-and-change line here is pricey, and it doesn’t jibe with the upstream swim on the O/U action. TAKE A PASS on both puck lines: Blackhawks +1.5 (-209) and Oilers -1.5 (+170).
Over/Under (O/U)
These are not teams blessed with an overabundance of blue-line talent or red-hot goaltending. Still, the price here on a wonky one-way Under (a 4-1 score or something) or a tighter game with less looks on the man-advantage makes for a good play. GRAB THE UNDER 6.5 (-110).
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