T.M. Selection: Edmonton Oilers +1.5.

I like the Edmonton Oilers puckline against the Colorado Avalanche in this game on Thursday. The Avalanche took the 1st game of this series in an 8-6 win but the goaltending was terrible on both sides and the Oilers still looked great on offense. They got off to a quick start in that game but the Avalanche started to dominate shortly after and eventually took a 7-3 lead in the game. The Oilers never quit though and they put a great effort in that game still, scoring 3 goals unanswered after that to make it a 7-6 game with a few minutes left to play. The Avalanche would go on to score an empty net goal to win the game 8-6 but almost blowing that 4 goal lead is not the best look for them and I expect the oilers to tighten up with their defensive effort here. I also think Mike Smith will bounce back in this game too, he had a terrible game in their 1st of their series against the Flames similar to this game, losing that game 9-6 but the whole team bounced back after that to win 4 games in a row and eliminate the Flames. I think Smith will play better here and I expect the Oilers to play better on defense too. Their offense is clearly still hot and Kuemper even left the previous game with an injury so he is not in the best condition. Kuemper already suffered an eye injury earlier this postseason and now he is dealing with an upper body injury, whether that is the eye injury or he is dealing with something else entirely now, that can't be good for the Avs here and I have no confidence in their backup Francouz to stand on his head for an entire game against this hot offense. I think this is a big bounce back game for the Oilers here. I like the Oilers puckline in this game.

T.M. Prediction: 6-3 Oilers.