The Edmonton Oilers came undone quickly in Game 1 against the Dallas Stars.

Staked to a two-goal lead going into the third period, the Oilers conceded five goals (including an empty netter) in the final frame to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a 6-3 loss and fall behind in the best-of-seven series. 

The Stars are now -190 favorite to win the Western Conference Finals, with the Oilers sitting at +155 odds. 

The odds for Game 2 are much tighter, with Dallas currently priced as a -120 favorite.

Game 1 went off the rails.

At 5-on-5, the two teams were pretty much equals, with the Oilers recording one more shot on goal and high-danger scoring chance in nearly 50 minutes of play. 

The problem areas for Edmonton were on the penalty kill and in goal.

And while the penalty kill could very well sort itself out, the goaltending is a completely different story.

Stuart Skinner was terrific when he returned to action in the back half of Round 2, culminating in back-to-back shutouts to eliminate the Golden Knights, but he was really struggling before that stretch and didn’t look sharp in Game 1.

With Jake Oettinger on the other end of the ice, the Oilers will likely need to win in spite of their goaltender a couple of times in this series.

The margins between the Oilers and Stars are quite thin. Both teams are elite in a number of areas and the tale of the tape makes this series look like a coin flip, save for one thing – the goaltending.

With the odds so tight and the margins so thin, it’s hard to look past Skinner’s inconsistencies.

The Stars still hold value in Game 2.

The Play: Stars moneyline (-120, bet365)

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.