Ducks vs. Oilers NHL Odds, Prediction and Picks: Oilers Favoured Against Red-Hot Gauthier
The Edmonton Oilers look to pad their lead atop the Pacific Division standings when they return home to face the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night in NHL betting action at Rogers Place. The Oilers wrapped up a three-game road trip with Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss in new Jersey, but have picked up at least a point in five straight games and now lead second-place Vegas by three points in the divisional standings. The Ducks opened their current three-game swing through Western Canada with a 5-4 win in Vancouver on Tuesday night. Anaheim has now won two straight after falling to defeat in seven of their previous eight contests, and have seen five of their seven wins this season come on the road.
The Oilers return home as -190 favourites on Thursday’s NHL odds. The Ducks trail as +155 underdogs, and the total is listed at 7.
Ducks vs. Oilers NHL Betting Odds
The Oilers skated to a 5-2 victory when they visited Anaheim back on October 7, but it is the Ducks who have held the upper hand in recent head-to-head action, claiming the win in four of their past six matchups. The Ducks have regularly filled the net when facing the Oilers, averaging 4.33 goals during stunning upset victory over Edmonton in six games in the first round of last season’s NHL playoffs, and have seen the OVER go 6-2-2 in their past 10 meetings.
The Ducks have also seen their past five games overall evolve into high-scoring affairs, going 3-1-1 in their past five while scoring 5.40 goals per game. That marks a turnaround after the club potted just nine total goals during a preceding five-game slide. However, defence remains a worry in Anaheim, which has surrendered 4+ goals in eight of their past 10, and now ranks 30th in the NHL with a team goals against average of 3.80.
That’s bad news for the Ducks as they get set to face the Oilers’ league-leading offence, which has scored 4.13 goals per game and allowed more than one goal just once during their current 3-0-1 run. However, the Oilers have been prone to defensive lapses at home, wherte they have given up 4+ goals in five of eight appearances this season.
Anaheim Ducks
Cutter Gauthier enters Thursday as arguably the hottest goal scorer in hockey. The 22-year-old has scored eight times over his last three games, including six power-play goals, becoming the first player in NHL history to score multiple power-play goals in three consecutive appearances. In addition, Beckett Sennecke collected four assists against Vancouver, while Mikael Granlund added a goal and two assists. Leo Carlsson also scored and continues to lead Anaheim with 22 points, including 17 assists, through 15 games. However, the club is dealing with several injuries. Troy Terry remains sidelined with a hip injury, while Ryan Poehling is unavailable with a lower-body injury. A.J. Greer and Ian Moore are also out. Lukas Dostal is expected to get the start in goal despite hie recent struggles. Dostal has surrendered four goals per game during a dismal 1-3-1 run while compiling a .864 save percentage.
Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid has opened the season with an extraordinary nine goals and 40 points in 16 games, and his assist on Leon Draisaitl’s power-play goal in Tuesday’s loss to New Jersey extended his season-opening assist streak to an NHL-record 16 games. McDavid’s torrid start has overshadowed Draisaitl’s impressive numbers, with the big German racking up 13 goals and 29 points. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tallied a goal and an assist, including a power-play marker, and has now picked up two points in three of his past four outings and nine total points in seven appearances since making a delayed season debut. The Oilers have leaned heavily on the power play, with just 11 of their past 19 goals coming at 5-on-5, and have struggled at times to kill penalties, allowing two shorthanded goals in Tuesday’s loss, and now rank 21st in the NHL with a meagre 73.9 PK%.
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