In their first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs play-in round, the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks are ready to do battle.
Hockey is finally back. On August 1, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will officially start with a five-game slate on the schedule. The second game of the day will feature the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers and will start at 3:00 p.m. EST.
This game will be the first game of the Western Conference play-in round, which will be held in Edmonton. Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference will be having their games in Toronto.
In this series, the Oilers are favored over the Blackhawks. The lines for today, according to Odds Shark, are -155 for Edmonton and +135 for Chicago. The over/under for Game 1 is listed at 6 goals. As far as their Stanley Cup odds, the Oilers are listed at +2200 while the Blackhawks are at +2500.
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EDMONTON OILERS
The Edmonton Oilers rightfully enter the series as the favorites. They narrowly missed getting a play-in round bye, but instead, they’ll be facing Chicago, the 12th seed in the Western Conference. The Oilers are led by Hart Trophy finalist and Art Ross Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl and two-time Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid.
Edmonton has not officially announced who their game 1 starting goaltender will be, but it appears it will most likely be Mikko Koskinen with Mike Smith acting as the backup goalie.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
For the first time since the 2016-17 season, the Chicago Blackhawks are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Though they needed an expanded postseason in order to get in, the Blackhawks should give the Oilers a good challenge. Chicago is led by team captain Jonathan Toews and star forward Patrick Kane. They also have Dylan Strome, Brandon Saad, and Alex DeBrincat.
Corey Crawford will be getting the nod for the Blackhawks in net. Malcolm Subban will serve as his backup goalie.
Live Stream Information
Date: Saturday, August 1
Start Time: 3:00 PM EST
Venue: Rogers Place
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
TV Channel: NBC, SN
Live Stream: Fubo.tv (subscription required but you get a free trial), r/NHL Streams, NHL.TV (subscription required), NBC
Both teams should be raring to go. To quote Chance The Rapper, “as they say in hockey, let’s do that hockey!”