In their last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the New York Rangers and the Edmonton Oilers collide at Rogers Place for a cross-continent matchup. CBC Sports will broadcast the game, and the action gets underway at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 3.
New York Rangers vs. Edmonton Oilers Odds
Edmonton (-200) is currently favored over New York (+170) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 7 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
New York is 29-36 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. 34 of its matches have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Broadway Blueshirts are 11-20 SU as a road team in 2017-18.
New York has converted on 20.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and the teams successfully killed off 82.7 percent of all penalties.
New York, as a collective unit, has been whistled for penalties 3.6 times per game in the 2017-18 season, 3.2 per game over its last five games total, and 3.2 per game over its last five road outings. The teams been forced to defend opponent power plays just 7.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sporting a .916 save percentage and 29.1 saves per game, Henrik Lundqvist (25-30-5) has been the best option in goal for New York this year. Lundqvist did just play last night, however, so head coach Alain Vigneault may choose to rest him and roll with Ondrej Pavelec instead (5-11-1 record, .910 save percentage, 3.01 goals against average).
Vladislav Namestnikov and Mats Zuccarello will both lead the way for the visiting Rangers. Namestnikov (46 points) has tallied 21 goals and 25 assists, and has recorded two or more points 10 times. Zuccarello has 10 goals and 33 assists to his name (and has registered at least one point in 33 games).
On the other side of the rink, Edmonton is 27-37 straight up (SU) and has lost 16.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 31 of its games have gone over the total, while 30 have gone under and just three have pushed. The team is 13-18 SU at home this year.
Edmonton has converted on just 14.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that places it in the bottom overall among NHL teams. Its penalty kill is also ranked 31st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 73.6 percent of all penalties.
Edmonton skaters have been called for penalties 3.7 times per game in total this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five match ups. The teams been forced to kill penalties just 6.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Cam Talbot (27.1 saves per game) has been the primary selection in goal for Edmonton. Talbot has 23 wins, 28 losses, and two OT losses to his name and has maintained a mediocre 3.13 goals against average and a fairly-weak .903 save percentage this year.
Connor McDavid (29 goals, 48 assists) will lead the offensive counter for the Oilers.
New York Rangers at Edmonton Oilers Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Rangers, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The over has hit in three of Edmonton’s last five games.
- The Rangers are 10-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 18-20 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Edmonton is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while New York is 3-4 in shootouts.
- Edmonton skaters have averaged 8.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 7.8 takeaways per game (ranked 11th overall).
- One of the leagues best when it comes to creating pressure on their opponents, New York is ranked fifth in the NHL with 8.7 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower, however, as the team has averaged 4.8 takeaways over its last 10 games and 4.4 takeaways over its last five.
