Posted at 10:00 AM EST. Odds are subject to change.

Anaheim +120 over Edmonton 

10:00 PM EST. You'll have to excuse us while we crap in our pants over Edmonton's breathtaking 2-1 start. The mighty Oilers have beaten Vancouver once and Seattle once, so apparently we're supposed to start planning the parade route.

We'll hold off.

Edmonton played Vancouver twice and allowed 13 goals. Thirteen. They somehow managed to split those games because in one of them they built an 8-2 lead and nearly turned it into a hostage situation, eventually escaping 9-7. That's not protecting a lead. That's leaving the front door open, putting the valuables on the porch and hoping nobody notices.

Then came a victory over Seattle, which looks a little less impressive after the Kraken went out the following night and got their doors blown off by Vegas.

Yet Edmonton is favored on the road tonight.

The Oilers' biggest issue hasn't changed. They give up chances. Lots of them. Their defensive-zone play can turn into a fire drill, and when things start going sideways, everybody seems to develop an uncontrollable urge to join the rush and let somebody else worry about the guy standing alone in front of the net.

Fortunately, Edmonton brought in Mike Babcock to calm everything down.

After allowing 13 goals in two games against Vancouver, one can only imagine the relaxing atmosphere at the next Oilers practice. Perhaps Babcock gathered everyone in a circle, dimmed the lights, put on some Enya and asked each player to share one thing they love about themselves.

Or perhaps not.

This is, after all, Mike Babcock, whose motivational résumé includes asking a teenage Mitch Marner to rank his teammates from hardest-working to least-working and then sharing the list with those teammates. He later lasted about five minutes in Columbus before a controversy involving players' cellphone photos ended his tenure before he ever coached a game. Now he's back behind an NHL bench, presumably having learned that when somebody says, "Coach, can I have my phone back?" the correct answer is yes.

Imagine giving up seven goals and then checking the dressing room afterward to see if Babcock is waiting for you.

"Great game, boys. Before everybody leaves, unlock your phones and rank your teammates."

We'll take Anaheim.

The Ducks are young, fast, enthusiastic and, most importantly for this matchup, they can score. This isn't the Anaheim team of a few years ago that needed a solar eclipse and three deflections to produce four goals. There's legitimate offensive talent here, and an Edmonton team that's already shown an alarming willingness to trade chances is precisely the opponent that can bring it out.

Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke are part of a young core that's becoming increasingly dangerous. Anaheim can attack with speed, and if Edmonton wants to turn this into another track meet, that's perfectly fine with us. The Oilers obviously have enough firepower to win that type of game, but laying a road price with a team that has already surrendered 13 goals in two games to the same opponent isn't particularly appealing.

Edmonton's 2-1 record looks fine.

The hockey underneath it doesn't.

Anaheim is at home, we're getting plus money, and the Ducks have exactly the type of young offensive legs capable of exploiting Edmonton's defensive looseness.

Besides, if the Oilers give up another six tonight, Babcock may make everyone rank the goals from least embarrassing to most embarrassing and read the list aloud at breakfast.

Anaheim +116

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