Edmonton Oilers vs. Ottawa Senators Prediction, NHL Odds
Connor McDavid & Co. opened as -195 favourites on the NHL odds.
Oilers vs. Senators NHL Betting Odds
The Ottawa Senators have not made the playoffs since losing in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals, and that drought will continue this season. Coach DJ Smith was fired earlier this season and replaced on an interim basis by Jacques Martin, the winningest coach in team history. The Senators have essentially played no better or worse since the change.
All the motivation is on Edmonton’s side as it tries to chase down Vancouver for first in the Pacific Division. Still unlikely but it hasn’t hurt the Oilers’ chances that Canucks No. 1 goaltender Thatcher Demko is out injured. Most likely, Edmonton finishes second and hosts either Vegas or Los Angeles in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Edmonton goes for the season sweep as it beat visiting Ottawa 3-1 on Jan. 6 thanks to a Zach Hyman hat trick. He completed the hat trick on a power play with 2:50 to go off a feed from Connor McDavid. Evan Bouchard assisted on all three goals. Stuart Skinner made 29 saves. Parker Kelly scored for Ottawa, and Anton Forsberg made 43 saves.
The Oilers are 8-2 in the past 10 meetings and the over-under is 5-5.
Edmonton Oilers
Second of a back-to-back for Edmonton as it started this road trip with a 6-3 loss in Toronto on Saturday. The Leafs were up 5-0 when the Oilers finally scored their first goal in the third. Zach Hyman (49th), Corey Perry (10th) and Leon Draisaitl (36th) had them. Connor McDavid had three assists. It was his eighth career three assist period. Only one active player has more. McDavid’s 89 assists have tied a career high set last season. Stuart Skinner allowed five goals on 23 shots in two periods, and Calvin Pickard made five stops in relief. Pickard is expected to start here. The Oilers are 7-1 in their past eight in Ottawa.
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa enters on a three-game skid after a 5-2 home loss to St. Louis on Thursday. The Sens have scored exactly three goals in each game of the skid so it really doesn’t matter in that case whether a team has good goaltending or not. Which Ottawa doesn’t. Anton Forsberg was in net for that loss. Mark Kastelic (fourth of season) and Dominik Kubalik (11th) had the goals Thursday. Can’t promise anything but if form holds it would thus be Joonas Korpisalo’s turn here. He allowed six goals in a loss in Boston on Tuesday but had played quite well in the three prior. Claude Giroux was in question with an illness but played and had an assist. He remains one goal shy of joining Daniel Alfredsson as the second player in franchise history to record 20 goals in a season when entering a season at age 35 or older. Giroux, a Hearst, Ontario, native, is 36. Still a shock he wasn’t dealt at the trade deadline. The over is 5-0 in Ottawa’s past five games.
