Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, and the Ottawa Senators will face off against Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place in a cross-country showdown. Sportsnet West will broadcast the action, which gets going at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 23.
Ottawa Senators at Edmonton Oilers Odds
Ottawa (+230) is currently the underdog to Edmonton (-270), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals (-120 to bet the under, +100 for the over).
Losing 10.4 units for moneyline bettors, Edmonton is 33-41 straight up (SU) overall in the 2018-19 season. That early-season winning percentage is right in line with the 36-46 record the team produced during last year’s regular season campaign. 36 of the team’s 74 contests have gone under the total, while 33 have gone over and just five have pushed. The team’s 17-19 SU at home this season.
The Oilers have been able to convert on 21.3 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 29th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 75.3 percent of all penalties.
With a .909 save percentage and 25.5 saves per game, Mikko Koskinen (23-25-4) has been the primary option in goal for the Oilers this season. If head coach Ken Hitchcock decides to give him a rest, however, the team might roll with Cam Talbot (10-21-21 record, .893 save percentage, 3.36 goals against average).
Ottawa has lost 8.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year and is currently 25-49 straight up (SU). 39 of its outings have gone over the total, while 30 have gone under the total and just five have pushed. As the road team, the Senators are 9-29 SU.
The Senators have converted on 19.5 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 24th overall and it’s successfully defended 79.0 percent of all penalties.
Craig Anderson (.902 save percentage and 3.55 goals against average) has been the main option in goal for Ottawa. Anderson is averaging 30.8 saves per game and owns a 14-31-4 record.
Ottawa Senators at Edmonton Oilers Betting Predictions
NHL Tip: SU Winner – Senators, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The majority (68.0 percent) of Ottawa’s wins have come by two or more goals, and the team is 17-32 overall in such games. 14 of Edmonton’s wins (42.4 percent) have been decided by two or more goals.
- The Senators are 12-16 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 20-33 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Edmonton (3-2 in shootouts) has more experience this season in games decided by shootout. Ottawa fell short in its only shootout this season.
- Edmonton may hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 19-12 in games decided by one goal, while Ottawa is 8-17 in such games.
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their last five matches.
- Ottawa skaters have averaged 12.4 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 11.6 giveaways per game (ranked 23rd).
- Edmonton is ranked 25th this season with 11.9 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as the team’s averaged 11.0 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.6 giveaways over its last five.
- The Oilers this season have tallied the third-most hits in the NHL (27.0 per game).
