NHL Game 2 Best Bets: Expert Picks Oilers vs Stars Analysis

Written by

Daniel Dobish

Published on May 23, 2025

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs steam on Friday evening with Game 2 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars continue their best-of-seven series at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+. We'll take a look at not only the moneyline and total, but we'll make some prop predictions and same-game parlay picks, too. Let's get started.

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Oilers vs Stars Game 2: Betting Odds, Predictions & Top Picks

For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.

Game 2 Preview: Oilers vs Stars Betting Odds and Predictions

The Oilers and and Stars get back on the ice for Game 2 on Friday, and the teams definitely have a much different feeling about the series opener.

On Wednesday, Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring for the Oilers at 10:19 of the first period, with helpers to Darnell Nurse and Connor McDavid, and it looked like it would be a good night. Tyler Seguin responded just over five minutes later, leveling the game at 1-1 heading to the room.

For the second period, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins struck on the power play, with helpers to McDavid and Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard scored 100 seconds later, with helpers to RNH and Draisaitl, and Edmonton was up 3-1. After 40 minutes, it looked like we might hear from "La Bamba". Then, the third period happened...

It was a stunning turn of events, as Dallas cut into the lead just 32 seconds into the third period, as Miro Heiskanen scored on the power play, taking advantage of a carryover penalty to Brett Kulak late in the second period due to a hooking infraction. Corey Perry went to the box at 2:51 of the third due to a high-sticking penalty, and Mikael Granlund made them pay with yet another PPG at 3:49 of the third period. Just like that, we were tied. It got worse. Much worse.

At 5:47, Evander Kane was whistled for yet another high-sticking penalty, and just 11 seconds later, Matt Duchene scored his first goal of the postseason, a power-play marker, and the goal that stood up as the game-winning tally. Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen helped out, making it 4-3. Seguin added insurance at 16:02 of the third, with Esa Lindell depositing one into the empty net 43 seconds later on an unassisted goal. It ended up 6-3, as Dallas piled up five goals in the third period.

Stuart Skinner was brutal in the third, and he allowed five goals on just 27 shots for the game. Jake Oettinger started out slowly, but he ended up with 24 saves on 27 shots, with the power-play unit bailing him out with a giant third period.

The shots were fairly even, with Dallas edging Edmonton by a 28-to-27 margin. The Oilers doled out more hits, racking up 43, to just 34 for the Stars. The home team was way better at the faceoff dot, though, as Dallas won 62.1 percent of the 66 total faceoffs. Dallas was also 3-for-4 on the power play, while killing two of the three chances on the man advantage for Edmonton.

The Stars also had 17 blocked shots, led by Granlund with three and Thomas Harley with three. Jamie Benn and Mason Marchment led the way with four hits, too.

For the Oilers, Troy Stecher paid the price three times in the blocked shots department, while Zach Hyman was a beast in the hits department, rolling up 12 hits in just 19:01 of TOI on 22 shifts. Vasily Podkolzin had eight hits, too.

Will Edmonton he shellshocked, crumbling in Game 2? Or will they tap into last season's experience as Western Conference champions, winning on the road to seize home-ice advantage despite the Game 1 collapse? It will be interesting, for sure.

The smart money is on the Oilers, actually. The Stars took advantage of some undisciplined play, which led to the floodgates opening. Edmonton was in good shape through 40 minutes, and it will be in good shape if it can stay out of the box. Skinner is a liability, and that's concerning, as Dallas clearly has the upper hand with Oettinger. Still, take the Oilers, as any team with McDavid and Draisaitl is dangerous, especially if they can get the power play revved up.

We'll back the Under, too, as we should see the defense tighten up a little bit. Below, we'll roll with the alternate total goals line, too, for a little extra insurance, but Under 6.5 is fine straight up, too.

Oilers vs Stars: Top NHL Player Prop Bets for Game 2

For the props, we'll keep it simple for Game 2. Granlund has been playing with a ton of confidence lately, and he'll be involved on the offensive end. Simply playing him to get 1+ shots on goal is a good part of your SGP. Toss in Harley to get at least one shot on goal, too. That will bump up a simple four-leg parlay to help you nearly triple up.