The Edmonton Oilers have one more chance to steal home-ice advantage against the Dallas Stars.
The pregame narrative: Dallas flipped the script on last year’s Western Conference final by winning Game 1, 6-3. Can the Oilers bounce back? Or will the Stars jump out to a two-game lead, taking them a step closer to the Stanley Cup Final?
Check out my Oilers vs. Stars Game 2 prop picks on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Miro Heiskanen.
Oilers vs. Stars picks
Best Bet: Heiskanen to record a point (-118)
Dallas’ defenceman missed much of the second half of the regular season recovering from an injury. He returned in Game 4 of the series against the Winnipeg Jets and made an instant impact.
Heiskanen has four points in four playoff games while going 3-1 against this wager.
His ice time has gradually increased from 14 minutes in his return to over 24 minutes against the Oilers on Wednesday.
This pick may not be available at plus money anymore, but the value remains for the perennial Norris candidate.
Heiskanen had just 25 points in 50 games this season, but is capable of being one of the most productive offensive defencemen in the NHL when healthy.
He had 54 points in 71 games in 2023-24 and 73 points in 79 games in 2022-23.
Plus, Edmonton is dealing with some shaky goaltending from Stuart Skinner. That means another six-goal outburst is within the range of possibilities.
Key stat: Skinner has a 3.39 GAA and .872 SV% in these playoffs — the worst stats of any remaining starting goaltender.
Game 2 prop prediction
Nugent-Hopkins to record a point (-121): It’s hard to get attention playing with the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
But I want to shine a light on Nugent-Hopkins’ playoff career.
- The former first-overall pick has 72 points in 86 postseason games.
- He ranks fourth on the Oilers with 11 points in 12 games during these playoffs (8-4 against this line).
Nugent-Hopkins usually skates as the third-line centre, but his recent play has elevated him to the first line to play wing alongside McDavid.
He also slots onto the first power-play unit that includes Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. I’m not sure there is a better situation for a forward to be productive in.
I love the value on this pick at this price.
Oilers vs. Stars prop picks made at 1:49 p.m. ET 05/22/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.