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The Edmonton Oilers needed a hero in double overtime in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.

Once again, the best player on the planet delivered.

Connor McDavid scored 32 seconds into double overtime to lift Edmonton to a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars.

It was the fourth-fastest goal in double overtime or later in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Oilers improved to 6-0 this postseason when McDavid records multiple points.

They are 3-4 when he doesn’t.

Meanwhile, it’s the fourth time that Edmonton has won a Game 1 on the road in the conference finals or later.

They won each of the previous three series.

After coming out on top in Game 1 on the road as a +106 underdog, the Oilers flipped from an underdog to the favourite to win the Western Conference Final.

Edmonton’s odds to win the Stanley Cup are also on the move at FanDuel.

This is the Morning Coffee for Friday May 24th, 2024.

Oilers Odds To Win The Stanley Cup On The Move At FanDuel

Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have gone on to win the series 67.9 per cent of the time.

The Oilers have a 22-3 series record when they take a 1-0 lead – the best series record of any NHL franchise.

They’re also 3-0 when they win Game 1 on the road.

Edmonton’s odds to win the series shifted dramatically from +105 to -200 at FanDuel.

The Oilers’ odds to win the Stanley Cup were cut from +280 to +190.

On the flip side, the Stars went from +230 to +390 to win it all at FanDuel.

Dallas to advance flipped from -126 to +164.

Per the FanDuel traders, 91 per cent of the series winner bets were on the Stars to win the Western Conference Final.

For their fans and everybody who bet the Oilers, there’s plenty of reason for confidence following a Game 1 win.

On the flip side, the 91 per cent of FanDuel bettors on Dallas to win the series shouldn’t panic just yet.

The Stars rallied from down two goals to force overtime and had several chances to come out on top in the extra frame.

Still, Dallas fell to 0-3 in Game 1st this postseason.

They’ll need their fans to run it back with the same type of energy in Game 2.

The Stars have now lost six straight Game 1s overall.

In the first round of these playoffs, Dallas went from -130 to +146 to advance when they lost Game 1 to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Stars could be found as high as +365 to advance after losing the first two games of that series on home ice.

In the second round, Dallas blew a 3-0 lead in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1.

The Stars went from -138 to +158 to advance following the loss.

Dallas is currently -142 to win Game 2 on home ice.

The Oilers are +118 to take a 2-0 series lead on the road.

If you’re confident that they can continue their recent trend of bouncing back to win the series following a Game 1 loss, then there’s value backing the Stars at +164 to win the series.

A FanDuel Best Bet For Friday Night

For the second night in a row, it didn’t take long for us to cash the FanDuel Best Bet in Morning Coffee.

This morning, we have a chance to push this week’s record to 3-0 with a couple of futures pending.

For Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, I went with a Same Game Parlay that featured Sam Reinhart to record 3+ shots on goal and Carter Verhaeghe to register 2+ shots on goal.

Reinhart hit the net on four of his five shot attempts.

Verhaeghe finished with a team-high six shots on goal on a team-high 11 shot attempts.

Ironically, Verhaeghe didn’t even register a shot on goal on his actual goal.

 

While I considered flipping the SGP after watching what Verhaeghe did in the series opener, I’m going to stick with what’s worked for me and run it back with the exact same SGP I locked in for Game 1 as my FanDuel Best Bet.

Reinhart has registered three or more shots on goal in 11 of Florida’s 12 games this postseason.

He finished with two shots on goal in the lone miss.

Meanwhile, Verhaeghe has recorded at least two shots on goal in all 12 playoff games.

A FanDuel Best Bet with Reinhart 3+ shots on goal and Verhaeghe 2+ shots on goal gets me -134 odds at FanDuel.

I’m tempted to add Vincent Trocheck 2+ shots on goal or Artemi Panarin 2+ shots on goal to get me to plus-money – I believe both are options for Game 2.

However, I’ll stick with Reinhart 3+ shots on goal and Verhaeghe 2+ shots on goal at -134 as a FanDuel Best Bet that I believe has the best chance to get us home.

Have a great weekend, everyone!