The Edmonton Oilers will begin their quest to reach a third consecutive Stanley Cup Final Monday, as their series versus a talented young Anaheim Ducks side finally gets underway, with the Ducks vs. Oilers odds tabbing the Oilers as big road favourites in the series opener.
The Oilers are currently priced at -240 to win the series, while the Ducks are priced at +195.
In this article, we’ll outline our best bet for the series opener between the Ducks and Oilers, as well as the relevant betting notes for both teams.
Ducks vs. Oilers Game 1 best bet
Oilers to Win in Regulaion: -115 (Bet365, Play to -125)
Oilers to win in regulation time
As we touched on in our Western Conference preview, the Oilers should have an excellent chance of getting through Round 1 somewhat comfortably in this series and should feel lucky to have drawn such a soft opponent given their modest regular season.
Anaheim finished with a -15 goal differential this season, and snuck into the playoffs by going 8-0 in shootouts and 8-6 in games settled in three-on-three overtime. Obviously, neither of those strengths will help the Ducks now, and overall their profile as a young team with significant defensive deficiencies does not seem to profile well versus the high-powered Oilers.
The Ducks allowed 3.78 xGA/60 this season and 3.51 goals against per game where it counts. In several key matchups down the stretch, with the division title within reach, they were quite poor defensively versus a number of notably weak sides. While many contenders tightened things up down the stretch, Anaheim seemed incapable of doing so.
Anaheim does have some legitimate offensive upside, and it won’t be surprising if in one or two matchups in this series they hang up a crooked offensive total and expose the Oilers’ shaky play in goal.
But with Leon Draisaitl likely to play in Game 1, the Oilers’ lethal attack should capable of generating plenty of problems versus a Ducks side that really did not prove much defensively at any point this season.
Lukas Dostal is capable of stealing games when at his best, but he will likely face a high number of chances that no goaltender would have a realistic chance of saving throughout this series.
Edmonton has proven capable of flipping the switch come the postseason over the last two seasons, and at a minimum, we should see that narrative come to fruition in Round 1. At -115, there’s value in backing the Oilers to win Game 1 in regulation, and it can be bet down to -125.
Ducks vs. Oilers Odds
| Ducks moneyline odds | +150 |
| Oilers moneyline odds | -180 |
| Puck Line odds | Ducks +1.5 (-165), Oilers -1.5 (+140) |
| Series odds | Ducks (+195), Oilers (-240) |
| Game total | Over 6.5 goals (-135), Under 6.5 (+115) |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
Betting Anaheim Ducks
There are some arguments as to why head coach Joel Quenneville’s young side could offer the Oilers a tough series, but it’s hard to imagine they will find much success if they can’t at least clean things up defensively to some extent relative to what we have seen of late.
The Ducks have plenty of high-end offensive skill and offer the ability to wreak havoc off the rush in chances coming against the run of play. Leo Carlsson, Troy Terry, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckett Sennecke all have strong offensive upside and will make the Oilers pay if they offer some of the shaky defensive play we saw in the first half of the season.
Anaheim’s power play was highly effective down the stretch, as the addition of elite John Carlson proved noteworthy in that regard. The Ducks succeeded on 23.2% of power-play opportunities in their final 15 games of the season, which certainly offers one avenue for them to find success in this series.
At his best, Lukas Dostal has shown legitimate Vezina-level upside, a fact that has often been marred by the Ducks’ horrid defensive play during his tenure. Dostal has had a down year in playing to an .888 save percentage, but likely would have been in Vezina contention in 2025 if voters placed more weight upon the defensive play of a goaltender’s team.
Betting Edmonton Oilers
For the Ducks to have success in this series, it will likely mean Lukas Dostal stole a few games, and that they finished scoring chances off at a notably high rate versus Connor Ingram.
Whether or not the Oilers will prove to be a legitimate Cup contender or not will likely come down to the level of play offered by Ingram. Ingram played to a .901 save percentage and 2.55 GAA in 19 starts following the Olympic break. He is obviously less proven than the starters offered by most contenders, but as a general sentiment, which goaltenders will dominate each postseason is far less predictable than is generally believed.
Edmonton’s penalty kill and overall defensive upside were improved down the stretch, as the additions of Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson did prove effective. Though neither offers much offensive upside, both fared quite well defensively in Chicago this season, both on the penalty kill and at even strength, where they each spent a lot of time playing in matchups versus elite talents.
Paul Coffey also was brought back on the coaching staff following the Olympic break, as for much of the season his absence was viewed as a potential reason for the lesser defensive play relative to the previous two seasons.
The goal for the bottom parts of the Oilers roster will essentially be what it has been the previous two postseasons: Play close to equal with the opponent, and let Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s lines and the team’s incredible power play steal games.
McDavid, Draisaitl and the rest of the Oilers’ top talents should have an excellent chance of having a highly productive series. There are legitimate arguments to be made that they drew the best possible matchup to rack up points out of any of the 16 teams on paper, but obviously playoff hockey can go off the rails in a hurry.
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