Vancouver vs Edmonton Prediction 11 May 2024

Mistakes are unforgiving here. Vancouver proved a well-known truth - hockey is played for 60 minutes, and losing concentration for even a minute is not an option. The "Oilers" slept through the third period and lost a three-puck advantage. Not even a fantastic power play - 47.5% efficiency in capitalizing on the numerical advantage led to victory. Goalies in this series have so far been completely unimpressive.

Vancouver proved that it can fight on equal terms with the favorite and pull out matches. In the third period of the first game, the team completely dominated: 8 shots on goal, 6 blocks, 3 pucks netted. But in the first two periods, the "Orca" could do nothing with McDavid and his partners. There’s a high probability that the "Oilers" will press even harder, and there are clear problems at the last line of defense - Shilov can’t withstand the pressure. There will be even more shots on his goal.

Edmonton relaxed after scoring four times and received an important lesson. This is their first loss in the playoffs in regulation time. Zack Kassian and Leon Draisaitl earned their usual points, but that's not enough for victory at this level. The team urgently needs to improve its defense and maintain concentration. Perhaps, it should increase its toughness and not be afraid of penalties: the "Oilers" still show fantastic numbers in penalty killing - 100% efficiency. They need to use their strengths.

Projected Lineups

Vancouver: Shilov – Hughes, Gronick – Suter, Miller, Boeser

Edmonton: Skinner – Ekholm, Bouchard – Janmark, McDavid, Kassian

Vancouver’s main goalies are still injured, Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith will not play in the second match of the series. Edmonton lost first-line player Adam Henrique – this is a significant loss that leads to changes in all attack trios.

Goalies

Artur Shilov and Stuart Skinner synchronously had a terrible game: silly mistakes, penalties, unclear play on the line and when coming out of the goal, a lot of flaws in actions. The goalies do not give their field players the necessary confidence. If nothing changes, there will be many goals in this series.

Editorial Prediction

The unclear play of goalies and mutual mistakes by teams in defense lead to many pucks netted. Players do not complete episodes and strive to neutralize this by focusing on attack. The game proceeds with many dangerous moments. All this inevitably leads to an abundance of goals. According to the editorial opinion, more than 6 pucks will be scored in regulation time.

⚠️What about head-to-head meetings? The number 53 indicates the amount of matches played, of which the team Vancouver Canucks was stronger (including overtimes and shootout series) in 26; guests, correspondingly, in 27.

🏒Furthermore, it's important to note the total number of pucks thrown into each other's nets:🥅

• for the home team, this figure stopped at 154;

• for the guests – 145.