Edmonton Oilers vs. Colorado Avalanche: Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game 1 Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/31/2022

Western Conference Final, Game 1

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Venue: Ball Arena, Denver, CO

Where to watch: TNT, SN

DraftKings: Avalanche -175, Oilers +150

BetMGM: Avalanche -185, Oilers +150

Caesars: Avalanche -175, Oilers +150

There was something I saw on Twitter the other day that made me cackle. It said something along the lines of it taking the Vegas Golden Knights finally missing the playoffs for the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche to make the Western Conference Final.

And the only thing I come back to when thinking about that over the past few days and yelling at other bar patrons, is where's the lie? It's not the fact about the Golden Knights making or missing the playoffs. Butt-hurt Oilers and Avalanche fans are the ones taking it that way. 

But are we seriously going to act like that this year of all years is finally the time Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon finally come within four wins of making their first ever Stanley Cup Final? And we can spend this whole time discussing why it's taken this long, but as the teams prepare for Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday, we know this for sure: We have two generational superstars playing for the right o play in the Stanley Cup Final. We have two generational talents, who will cement their case Hall-of-Fame resume with a trip to the Final, and more than likely, this team is facing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Final with a chance to halt their three-peat.

"We all want to win," McDavid said. "Everybody wants to win. I think our group has been through a lot this year and in years past. I think it's just made us hungrier and hungrier to be successful. We've had to learn a lot of lessons along the way, and it's got us up to this point, and obviously we want to keep going here."

All of that to say that it's surprisingly taken this long when it really shouldn't have. The Oilers (maybe because of their depth) are finally on the right side of the bracket. The Avalanche, after years of heartbreak and failed expectations, are where they should be.

But is that really good enough?

Right now, if there was ever uncertainty for how to view this seven-game series, it's through the roof. The Oilers are finally in the conference final in the McDavid era. It took a 7-game victory over the Los Angeles Kings in one of the more ridiculous series ever, and then dismantling the Calgary Flames in five games where goals were scored aplenty. They broke the code on Vezina Trophy finalist Jacob Markstrom and the Flames failed once again. That's another discussion for another day.

Then there's Colorado, who made quick work of the Nashville Predators in Round 1, as expected, and then ran into trouble with Jordan Binnington in Game 2. Which then prompted Ville Husso to take the net once Binnington was ruled out for the rest of the series, and the struggling No. 1 goalie once again struggled when it mattered most. The case can be made that if Binnington was healthy, that series goes seven and it's likely that the Blues win the thing. So at this moment, we have two teams are on the verge of fraudulent.

"It means a lot," forward Nathan MacKinnon said. "I think you really have to enjoy the journey. That's the most important thing we're going to look back on is the journey of getting to this point. There will only be four teams soon and obviously the job's not finished, but that's a great accomplishment for us.

"There have been some dark times. Nice to get over this hump, for sure. Definitely felt like we outplayed them this series. Just some tough periods in our end, but even tonight we played a great 60 minutes. Some key saves by 'Kemps', big block by [Josh Manson] and obviously big goals by 'Comph' and 'Helmer'. I thought we outplayed them for the majority of the series, and definitely tonight, and we deserved a good bounce there at the end."

And alas, we have made it to this point. To his moment. The Avalanche are in the conference final for the first time since 2002, while the Oilers are in the final four for the first time since 2006. Everyone get hyped.

As shaky as goaltending has been for both teams, this is going to come down to who can stop the puck against the superstars. For as great a story as it would be for Mike Smith, Darcy Kuemper is slightly better right now. Knowing this series is going to have to come down to Smith stopping the top guys in Colorado, I'm at least going with the Avs in Game 1. Avalanche win 4-2

Oilers are 30-21 this season after an over.

Oilers are 5-13 in Game 1 of a playoff series since 1996.

Avalanche are 15-16 in the conference final since 1996.

Avalanche are 108-51 the past three seasons after winning (or tie) the previous game.

Oilers:

Evander Kane -- Connor McDavid -- Leon Draisaitl

Zach Hyman -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Jesse Puljujarvi

Warren Foegele -- Ryan McLeod -- Kailer Yamamoto

Josh Archibald -- Derek Ryan -- Zack Kassian

Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci

Duncan Keith -- Evan Bouchard

Brett Kulak -- Tyson Barrie

Mike Smith

Avalanche:

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Artturi Lehkonen

Valeri Nichushkin -- Nazem Kadri -- Mikko Rantanen

Andre Burakovsky -- J.T. Compher -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Logan O'Connor -- Darren Helm -- Andrew Cogliano

Devon Toews -- Cale Makar

Jack Johnson -- Josh Manson

Bowen Byram -- Erik Johnson

Darcy Kuemper