Will Rogers

Oilers vs Golden Knights:

The red-hot Oilers face the subdued Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Friday. The Oilers are 3-0, on the backs of their dynamic duo, and scoring more than 4 goals a game so far. Goalie Mike Smith is out and the Oilers have been allowing a ton of shots on net. Their backup, Koskinen, has not played very much this season, and the Oilers have back to back games, so the goalie issue is up in flux.

Vegas is 1-2, off a loss, and not performing as expected. Missing two key offense components, Pacioretty and Stone, to injuries already, they have not been scoring. They have not been defending either, allowing a 25th in the league average of 4 goals a game. Neither Golden Knights goalie has started well.

There is little doubt that the Oilers will score, but unless they play a better brand of defense, there is little doubt they will be scored upon. I like the total in this situation. Take the Oilers and Knights to go over the total.

Red Sox (Eovaldi, 2-0) vs Astros (Garcia, 0-1)

The Red Sox face elimination and have Eovaldi, their only successful starter, on the mound. Eovaldi has already started three games in the postseason, winning two of them. He was not quite as dominant in the start vs. the Astros, and was then called upon to pitch a very unwise bullpen 2/3 of an inning and was shelled for 4 ER. How this will impact on his start on Friday remains to be seen, but he will be pitching on 3 days rest twice.

Luis Garcia has started 2 games, lasted 3 2/3 innings and has an ERA well into the 20’s. He was also roughed up in his last regular season start. He has a history of inflated ERA in the first innings, but is a much better pitcher at home. The Astros are no doubt hoping for a turnaround similar to Valdez’s in the previous game, but it is less likely.

Valdez’s stellar start gave the Astros pen a solid day of rest, while the Red Sox used five relievers. The Red Sox pen has a collective ERA of 6.25 in their last 7 games, and has been relied on for over 4 innings of relief per game. The Astros bullpen is better at 4.08 ERA/7 games.

Both teams obviously have the ability to score runs in a hurry. The Red Sox, in the regular season, were not a terrific road team. Both teams hit right-handers very well.

I am doubtful of Garcia’s success today and can’t see Eovaldi lasting, Take the Sox/Astros total today to go over.