Edmonton Oilers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Free Pick 11/2/19

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Two teams facing each other for the first time this season, the Edmonton Oilers and the Pittsburgh Penguins face off at PPG Paints Arena. AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh will showcase this East-West matchup, which gets underway at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 2.

Edmonton Oilers at Pittsburgh Penguins Odds

This matchup’s moneyline and Over/Under odds have not been posted by oddsmakers yet.

Edmonton is 9-5 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. Eight of its outings have gone under the total, while six have gone over and none have pushed. The Oilers are 4-4 SU as the away team in 2019-20.

Edmonton has impressively found the net on 29.3 percent of its power play opportunities thus far. That’s a noticeable improvement from last season, when it was ranked eighth in the NHL by scoring on 21.2 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has also gotten stronger, as the team’s gone from successfully defending 74.8 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 30th overall last season) to 83.7 percent this year.

For the team as a whole, Edmonton has been sent to the penalty box just 3.4 times per game during the 2019-20 season. Last year, that figure was the mark in the league at 3.7 penalties per game. After serving an average of 9.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s had to kill penalties for just 6.7 minutes per matchup this year.

With a .919 save percentage and 24.1 saves per game, Mike Smith (4-4-1) has been the primary option in goal for Edmonton this year. If it decides to give him a rest, however, the team might turn to Mikko Koskinen (5-2 record, .922 save percentage, 2.39 goals against average).

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Oilers. Draisaitl has 25 points via 12 goals and 13 assists, and has recorded two or more points in seven different games. McDavid has six goals and 17 assists to his credit, and has logged a point in nine games.

Pittsburgh is 8-5 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 1.6 units this year. Through 13 regular season contests, seven of its games have gone under the total, while five have gone over and just one has pushed. Thus far, the team’s 5-3 SU as the home team.

Pittsburgh has converted on just 16.2 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that places it in the bottom 10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 10th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.4 percent of all penalties.

Pittsburgh players have been whistled for penalties only 2.9 times per game this season, a number that’s improved from the 3.4 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.3 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has had to kill penalties for 7.1 minutes per outing this season.

Matt Murray has stopped 26.4 shots per game as the primary option in the crease for Pittsburgh. Murray has seven wins and three losses to his credit and has registered a .923 save percentage and a solid 2.20 goals against average this year.

Sidney Crosby (five goals, 12 assists) will pace the attack for the Pens.

Edmonton Oilers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Predictions

Free Prediction: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Over

Betting Trends

  • The Oilers are 5-1 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 7-5 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
  • After posting a 3-3 record in games decided by a shootout last year, Edmonton is off to a 1-1 start in shootouts this season. Pittsburgh went 2-3 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.