Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers Prediction, NHL Odds
The Battle of Alberta is back as the Calgary Flames head to Edmonton to meet the Oilers. Calgary has very little time to climb back in the North Division playoff picture, while Edmonton needs to string some wins together if they want to overtake Toronto for the North Division lead.
The Oilers are -145 favourites to win on the NHL odds with a total of 6.0.
Flames vs. Oilers Betting Analysis
To say the Oilers are the betting public’s favourite is an understatement. Edmonton is getting love from 88 per cent of early Sports Interaction bettors. These teams have met six times this season and the Oilers have a 4-2 edge in wins, outscoring Calgary by a combined 26-17 in those games. The Over has hit in four of the six games between these teams this season.
It doesn’t look like the hiring of Darryl Sutter has done much to turn Calgary’s fortunes around. The Flames have dropped five of their last six games and have only hit the Over twice in that stretch. They’ve posted a brutal 7-11-2 record on the road this year and dropped all three games they have played in Edmonton. Calgary is 15-22 against the spread and have covered seven of 20 road games.
Edmonton has had a better stretch than their provincial rivals. Before losing to Montreal on Monday, the Oilers had won four of their previous five games and they continue to be hot on Toronto’s trail for first in the North Division. They’re on a six-game winning streak at home and they’ve won seven of their last 10 home games against Calgary. Edmonton is 18-19 ATS, covering nine times each at home and on the road.
Calgary Flames
Calgary is on the wrong side, looking in at the playoff picture and unless they start winning now, it’s going to stay that way. Their game against Vancouver was cancelled on Wednesday because of COVID protocols, so we haven’t seen the Flames since they took a 5-1 pounding against Winnipeg on Monday. They’ve dropped four of their last five games and six of their last 10. The lone scorer on Monday was Elias Lindholm, who picked up his ninth goal of the season. Lindholm leads the Flames with 31 points in 37 games. Johnny Gaudreau leads the team with 13 goals (27 points), but hasn’t found the back of the net in four straight games.
Jacob Markstrom’s struggles continued and he was pulled from the net between the second and third period on Monday. Markstrom allowed four goals on 23 shots against the Jets and has now lost his last four starts. David Rittich allowed one goal on six shots in relief on Monday. Markstrom is 12-12-2 this year with a 2.94 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. “Big Save Dave” is 4-6-1 with a 2.79 GAA and .907 SV.
Edmonton Oilers
There were positives and negatives on the Oilers’ recent 10-day road trip. After their three-game set in Montreal was cancelled last week because of COVID protocols, Edmonton has now only played three games in the last 12 days. They’re back home after taking three of a possible six points on the road trip. The Oilers eventually did get a game against Montreal in, but it ended in a 4-0 loss on Tuesday that saw them outshot 32-17 by the Habs. Connor McDavid’s 63 points (21G, 41A) and Leon Draisaitl’s 54 (19G, 35A) continue to place the Edmonton superstars first and second in NHL scoring.
Darnell Nurse and Tyson Barrie have been surprisingly productive on the back end. Nurse leads all NHL defencemen with 12 goals (27 points), while Barrie is second in overall defencemen scoring with 32 points (5G, 27A). It was Nurse who buried the game-winner 17 seconds into overtime against the Leafs on Monday.
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