Ducks vs. Oilers: Game 3 prediction
Cam Talbot and the Oilers are up 2-0 heading back to Edmonton, and the Ducks are on their heels hoping they can salvage the series.
The Edmonton Oilers are currently crushing any team that steps in their way, and the past two teams they’ve played are some of the Western Conference’s best.
In their opening round, they dominated last year’s conference champion San Jose Sharks, and now find themselves up 2-0 on the Anaheim Ducks in the conference semifinals.
The biggest piece of their postseason, carrying over from his performance in the regular season, is Oilers goalie Cam Talbot. Talbot made 39 saves in Game 2 in Anaheim on Friday night, and made sure the Oilers were never behind at any point in their 2-1 win. 16 of Talbot’s 39 saves came in the third period alone.
The Oilers’ goaltending is what brought them to this point in the playoffs, as Talbot is currently 6-2 in the postseason and averaging just two goals against so far. He also carried the team in the regular season, going 42-22-8 in a league-high 73 starts.
The Oilers’ biggest factor in this whole series, and the postseason as a whole, is their play on the road, and how they give themselves momentum when they head home. They have won four straight games, three on the road, since losing 7-0 to the San Jose Sharks in the opening round, and proved they’re hot both on the road and at home in the process.
The key for the Ducks will be to get their offense rolling against the on-fire goalie in net across from them. Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Ryan Kesler are due for some big games after lackluster performances in the first two of the series, and need to figure out the puzzle that is Talbot.
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Prediction: Oilers 2, Ducks 1
The Oilers are on fire in this postseason, and are riding some solid, consistent goaltending. I really don’t see them losing that momentum in their own arena, up 2-0 in a crucial series. I see another close game dominated by the goalies, and the Oilers jump to a 3-0 lead with the chance to close at home in Game 4.