Edmonton Oilers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, NHL Odds
The Oilers are heavy favourites on the NHL odds.
Oilers vs. Blue Jackets NHL Betting Odds
Columbus goes for the unlikely series sweep as it won 3-2 in overtime in Edmonton on Jan. 25 as a +320 underdog – one of the biggest upsets of the season.
Second-period goals by Derek Ryan and Zach Hyman gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead through two, but the Jackets’ Kirill Marchenko tied it at 11:26 of the third, and Kent Johnson won it at 2:29 of OT – his wrist shot from the top of the slot caught a piece of Stuart Skinner’s glove on the way through — to end Edmonton’s six-game winning streak at the time.
Joonas Korpisalo, who has been pretty bad most of this season, had 34 saves in the victory. Skinner stopped 24 shots in the loss. The Oilers lost last season in Columbus, 5-2. The underdog is 5-2 in the past seven meetings.
Edmonton Oilers
Why could this be a trap for the Oilers? Might be easy for the players to let their guard down against a very bad team with an unusual start time, off an incredibly impressive 7-2 in in Pittsburgh on Thursday and with NHL-best Boston visiting Edmonton up next Monday. Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists vs. the Penguins, including only his second career penalty-shot goal. It was his ninth four-point outing of the season. Those are the most by a player in a season since 1995-96, when Mario Lemieux (16), Jaromir Jagr (9) and Peter Forsberg (9) all had as many. Leon Draisaitl had a goal and assist to extend goal streak to a career-high six games and his point streak to seven games (6G, 5A). A total of 11 players had at least one point; Ryan Nugent-Hopkins registered his 600th career point with his career-high-tying 28th goal. Stuart Skinner was in net Thursday, but it might be Jack Campbell’s turn here. Forward Evander Kane and Kim Klostin were both out. Kane for sure will miss Saturday. Edmonton is 4-0 in its past four on the road.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus lost 2-0 at home to Minnesota on Thursday despite the return from injury of Johnny Gaudreau. He had missed the past two with a lower-body injury. The former Calgary Flames star is having a good season with 52 points but not near what he did in 2021-22 when he had 115 points and was a whopping plus-64. He’s minus-16 on a bad team. Centre Cole Sillinger was out with an illness. Columbus has a lot of guys out injured. Joonas Korpisalo allowed two goals on 25 shots in the loss and has played decent since the All-Star break so likely will get the call again. He’s 10-11-3 with a 3.10 GAA and .914 SV. The Jackets are 1-4 in their past five at home.
