Oilers vs. Canucks NHL Odds, Prediction and Picks: Edmonton Favoured in Vancouver
The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver play the second half of a season-opening home-and-home series in Vancouver on Thursday night.
Edmonton got an early wake-up call in Tuesday’s season opener, suffering a 6-5 overtime loss to the Canucks, who are ranked 32nd coming into the season. Not at all how the Oilers wanted to start the campaign.
The NHL Odds have the Oilers as the -208 favourites on the road, with the OVER/UNDER set at 6.5 goals. The puck drops at 10:00 pm EST from Rogers Arena for the Canucks home opener.
Oilers vs. Canucks NHL Betting Odds
These squads had an absolute shootout in the season opener, smashing the OVER of 6.5 goals. The Oilers took three of four meetings last year and have now scored five or more against the ‘Nucks in each of their past three meetings.
Looking at last season’s numbers, both of these teams struggled defensively, as the Canucks allowed 3.83 goals per game (32nd) while the Oilers were 3.23 (25th). The Oilers made the postseason by outscoring their problems, potting 3.44 goals per game (6th), while the Canucks struggled in that metric as well at just 2.56 (31st).
Edmonton Oilers
The new-look Oilers are searching for their first lead of the season on Thursday as they were chasing the game from about the 10-minute mark of the first period in game one. They managed to erase a 5-2 deficit after 45 minutes of play to force overtime, where they eventually fell short.
Defenceman Evan Bouchard got his season off to a hot start; the 26-year-old potted three goals and added a pair of assists, registering a point on all five Edmonton goals.
When the team was shopping for a new netminder last season, they added Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins, which they likely regret even more after game one. Jarry allowed 6 goals on just 23 shots, in an awful performance in front of the home crowd.
Long-time centreman Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury. Losing him forced coach Mike Babcock to mix up his lineup, splitting up superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks were beaten in every stat on Tuesday night, except the one that matters most: the goals. Offseason signing Paul Cotter showed up in his Canucks debut, scoring the team’s first goal of the season. The team never looked back either, going up 5-2 in the third and holding the lead through the entire period, before a goal in the dying minutes sent it to overtime.
In the extra frame, Cotter scored his second of the night to send his new team back home with a 1-0 record on the year.
It was a full team effort from Vancouver as they had five different goal scorers, along with 12 players picking their first points of the season. Kevin Lankinen was solid when called upon in goal, stopping 32 of 37.
The win was rookie head coach Manny Malhotra’s first career win as the bench boss after spending the past nine seasons working his way into the role. He is working with an empty canvas here in Vancouver and will look to exceed the very low expectations.
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