The Edmonton Oilers are known as an offensive buzzsaw, but it’s their stinginess that is making the difference against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals.

The Oilers won Game 3 in Edmonton on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

They’ve only allowed one goal in their two wins against the Stars, and three of their last four victories have come via shutout.

Edmonton is proving it can win games in different ways this postseason, which was often a criticism of star Connor McDavid and the Oilers.

The Oilers are a -170 favorite to win Game 4 on Tuesday night.

Before the series started, most folks would have projected that a low-scoring game would favor the Stars, but the opposite has played out through the first three contests.

The Oilers are playing terrific defense, but a lot of the credit belongs to Stuart Skinner.

After being yanked in the first two games of the postseason, it looked like Skinner would be the reason that Edmonton would flame out in the playoffs. 

Instead, Skinner has put together a terrific redemption arc after getting called back into action thanks to an injury to Calvin Pickard in Round 2.

Skinner has three shutouts in his last five outings, and he boasts a +3.2 Goals Saved Above Expected in this series so far.

He is surprisingly outplaying Jake Oettinger, which is also the opposite of what most pundits would have predicted happening in this series.

It’s not fair to say that the Oilers have depended on Skinner to stand on his head, but it’s certainly been a massive part of their success because Dallas is not playing all that poorly.

The Stars have generated more shots, shot attempts, expected goals and high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 in this series, but the Oilers are proving much more clinical, and Skinner continues to answer the bell.

The Stars will need to find a way to score at 5-on-5, but there are some encouraging signs in the numbers for Dallas.

Dallas has created 8.1 expected goals at full strength, but its got just three goals to show for it. The Oilers have scored nine goals on 6.6 xG at 5-on-5.

The Oilers deserve credit for this 10-2 stretch, but the price is getting a bit out of hand for Game 4.

Bettors will be flocking to back red-hot Edmonton, but Dallas is a live underdog on the road Tuesday night.

The Play: Stars Moneyliune +140 (BetMGM)

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.