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Christopher Boan is a reporter and writer with BetCanada.com. He's covered the gambling industry for nearly a decade, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly, and the Green Valley News.
Oilers Chances Of Winning Series With 3-1 Series Lead: Historic Trends
The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference final. BetCanada.com, as part of our Canada sports betting coverage, looks at all-time trends for teams leading an NHL postseason series 3-1, and for the Oilers in that situation:
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How NHL Teams Fare Leading 3-1 in Series
Situation | Record (Win Pct.) | Odds |
Any Team Leads Series 3-1 | 322-32 (.910) | -1010 |
Any Team Trails Series 3-1 | 32-322 (.090) | +1010 |
Oilers Lead Series 3-1 | 17-1 (.944) | -1700 |
Oilers Opponent Trails Series 3-1 | 1-17 (.056) | +1700 |
The team leading the series 3-1 has won Game 5 to close out the series 196 out of 354 times (55.4%) since 1919.
Can Oilers Close Out Stars?
Check out Edmonton Oilers odds as the playoffs roll on.
With Edmonton rolling up a 3-1 series lead over Dallas on Tuesday night, the defending Western Conference champs moved a victory away from their second straight Stanley Cup final appearance. The Alberta-based franchise pulled off three straight victories by a combined margin of 11 goals over their rivals from the Lone Star State.
Looking back through NHL postseason history, 91.0% of teams that won three of four to start a playoff series (322 out of 354) have closed out the series, according to the Champs or Chumps website. The Oilers are even better than the league average; they’re 17-1 (.944) in series where they’ve started with a 3-1 edge, according to records.nhl.com data. This history gives hockey fans in the Alberta region, and Oilers backers in Stanley Cup odds betting, reason for optimism in this series.
Right now, the team at NorthStar Bets has Edmonton as a -1250 favorite to advance to the league finals, compared with +625 odds that Dallas wins three straight to break Oilers fans’ hearts. The Canadian sports betting operator also gives the Oilers the top Stanley Cup championship odds of the four teams left, at +100.
That 91% success rate for teams with a 3-1 series lead would translate to -1010 odds at Canada sportsbook apps.
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Edmonton Seeks Canada’s First Stanley Cup Since 1993
Should Edmonton win it all, they’d become the first team from north of the border to win a Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens beat the Los Angeles Kings back in 1993, snapping a 32-year championship drought that has plagued the seven teams based in Canada.
For now, the task at hand is for Edmonton to win one more game over Dallas to ensure a trip to the Stanley Cup final. Pinnacle Canada Sportsbook gives the Oilers +113 odds of finishing off the Stars in Dallas on Thursday night (8 p.m. Eastern). The only remaining Canadian NHL team enters Game 5 with -235 puckline odds (plus-1.5) on the Canadian sportsbook.
The Eastern Conference final is also a 3-1 series, with the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers looking to close out the Carolina Hurricanes tonight (8 p.m.) in Game 5 at Raleigh, North Carolina.
USA Today photo by Perry Nelson