Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers Pick and Prediction – May 29, 2024

DALLAS STARS VS. EDMONTON OILERS EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTION – May 29, 2024 — Game 3 proved to be vintage Dallas, and it might have put Edmonton on the brink. The Oilers went ahead 2-0 and seemed to have all the momentum, but the Stars never panicked. Dallas needed just 3:33 to turn a two-goal deficit into a one-goal lead in the second period, and it owned the flow of the game from there.

Edmonton now faces a must-win situation, and the Oilers haven’t had any indication they can count on the power play. Going home didn’t do the trick for getting whistles; Dallas only went to the box twice in Game 2. At some point, Edmonton’s going to have to accept that it’s going to have to do this 5-on-5.

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And that continues to be a struggle for an Oilers lineup that lacks any depth. Having a better top line than anyone can win you a lot of games, but there’s a reason teams look for top-six forwards rather than top-three. The Oilers don’t have anywhere near as much depth as the Stars, and each game is showing that gap.

Nor does Edmonton have the goaltending to match up with Dallas. The trend that’s becoming clear is that both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will have to be otherworldly if the Oilers are going to have a chance in this series. Either that, or Stuart Skinner and the defense have to step up and stop the Stars’ attack. But given Dallas’ performance in 5-on-5, that path looks unlikely.

The Odds

Puck Drop

When: Wednesday, May 29 at 8:30 p.m. EST

Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

TV: TNT

Public Bets: Unavailable

Public Money: Unavailable

Odds courtesy of DraftKings, as of May 29th, 2024

Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers In-Season Trends

The over finally cashed for the Oilers, but it didn’t work the way they wanted it to work. Edmonton only scored one of the game’s final six goals, as Dallas stepped up its game and took full control. The Stars are perfectly capable of winning with either offense or defense, but the Oilers really aren’t used to trying to win low-scoring games. The Oil have won five games out of nine via the under, but that was more because of the matchup with Vancouver.

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Dallas has far more playoff experience than Vancouver, and it’s showing each night. The Stars also have the goaltending that the Canucks did not and can afford to play defensive. The under has cashed nine times in the Stars’ playoff run, and Jake Oettinger and the defense are a big reason why.

Players to Watch

Getting Connor McDavid back on the scoresheet helped. But Draisaitl did nothing in for the second straight game, and once Dallas clamped down on both, that was the game. It’s now fully established: both stars playing like stars is not optional for Edmonton. If it doesn’t happen, the Oilers aren’t winning.

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Having a healthy Roope Hintz on the ice opens up even more paths for the Dallas offense. Hintz scored 65 points in the regular season, and he’s able to contribute either by hitting the net or hitting a teammate with equal efficiency. Adding another weapon to the mix is the last thing Edmonton wanted to see.

The Pick

The Oilers thought the whistles would come in Canada. They didn’t. Edmonton thought it would control the flow of play with the second line change. It didn’t.

And now the Oil looks like it’s in serious trouble. It’s becoming clearer each game that Edmonton does not have the depth to match Dallas. While the Oilers tried to capitalize on two of the greatest talents in the world, the Stars built a complete team. Even if the goals do come here, there’s far too much value on Dallas to go ahead 3-1.