Travis Konecny, Matt Niskanen, and the Philadelphia Flyers will do battle against Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place in an East-West matchup. The match gets underway at 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 16, and you can view the game live on NBC Sports Network.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Edmonton Oilers Odds
The Oilers (-130) are tabbed as the favorites over the Flyers (+110) and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -120 money on the over and +100 on the under.
Earning moneyline bettors 4.5 units, Edmonton is 5-1 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, ranked third in the NHL in this young season, is a surprising improvement over the 35-47 record from the 2018-19 season campaign. Through six regular season contests, three of its games have gone over the total, while an additional three have gone under and none have pushed. The team is 2-0 SU at home this year.
The Oilers have successfully converted on 40.0 percent of their power play chances thus far. That’s a noticeable improvement from last year, when they were ranked eighth in the league by scoring on 21.2 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 74.8 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 30th overall last season) to 95.0 percent this year.
With a .917 save percentage and 27.5 saves per game, Mike Smith (3-1) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Oilers this year. If the Oilers, however, choose to give him a rest, the team may turn to the undefeated Mikko Koskinen (2-0 record, .914 save percentage, 2.41 goals against average).
Philadelphia has earned moneyline bettors 0.9 units this season and is currently 2-2 straight up (SU). A total of two of its contests have gone under the total, while one has gone over and none have pushed. The Flyers are 0-2 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Flyers have recorded a goal on 28.6 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 17.1 percent of their extra-man opportunities last season (a percentage that was ranked just 23rd in the NHL). The team has gone from successfully defending 78.5 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 26th overall last season) to 90.9 percent this year.
Carter Hart (25.0 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for Philadelphia. Hart has two wins, one , and one OT loss to his credit, while registering a .938 save percentage and 1.62 goals against average this year.
Philadelphia Flyers at Edmonton Oilers Free Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Oilers, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Penalties and power plays may be extremely important in this matchup. The Flyers are 1-2 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 1-2 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Oilers are 3-0 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 4-1 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- For both of these clubs, the game went over the total in three of their past five outings.
