The Vegas Golden Knights won the Pacific Division, have home-ice advantage and looked great in a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in their Round 1 best-of-7 series.
So why does it feel like everyone is counting out the Knights against the Edmonton Oilers?
And is it warranted?
Not only is Edmonton sitting at -110 on the road for Game 1 against Vegas, but the Oilers are -152 to win the series and are the +180 favorites to win the Western Conference.
Is this a case of a hype train getting out of control?
Or is there still value on this bandwagon?
Oilers vs. Golden Knights Game 1 pick
(9:30 p.m. ET. ESPN)
The Jets were a pretty trendy underdog against Vegas in Round 1, and after Winnipeg took the curtain-raiser, it looked like the skeptics were on their way to being proven right with the Knights.
But Vegas would turn things around in Game 2 and never looked back.
The Knights finished the series with a +9 goal differential at 5-on-5 and had the advantage in shots on goal, expected goals and high-danger scoring chances in the series.
But as good as Vegas was in the series, it is fair to question if Winnipeg was truly at the races.
The Jets were banged up all series and had to play multiple games without No. 1 defenseman Josh Morrissey and play-making winger Nikolaj Ehlers.
That proved to be too much to overcome for Winnipeg, especially with all-world goaltender Connor Hellebuyck a little off his game.
The Knights still deserve credit for a well-played series, but the Oilers will provide a much steeper test than the Jets did in Round 1.
Not only did Edmonton look impressive in the business end of its first-round series with the Los Angeles Kings, but the Oilers’ hot run of form stretches much further back than that.
Edmonton entered the dance on a nine-game winning streak and was 18-2-1 since trading for Mattias Ekholm before the Trade Deadline.
The Oilers established themselves as a serious Stanley Cup contender at exactly the right time of the season.
Edmonton’s offense is prolific behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but the Oilers showed significant improvements on the defensive side of the puck down the stretch, too.
The Oilers have some questions to answer in goal, but with McDavid and Co. firing on all cylinders and the power play clicking at a historic rate, they should have enough to get by Vegas on Wednesday night.
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In addition to a play on the Oilers to win the game, I’ll also go with a square player prop and back McDavid to get 2+ goals in Game 1 at +580.
McDavid “only” had three goals against the Kings, but he led the Oilers with 27 shots on goal.
If he keeps up that rate, he’s poised for a couple of big games in this series.
Oilers vs. Golden Knights prediction
Edmonton Oilers -110 | Connor McDavid to score 2+ goals (+580, FanDuel)