Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Edmonton Oilers Prediction, NHL Odds
The Oilers saw a two-game overall win streak snapped with Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the visiting New Jersey Devils, and have now fallen to defeat in five of their past seven home dates. The Penguins have opened their current four-game road trip with back-to-back wins, capped by Wednesday’s 4-1 victory in Calgary, and enter Thursday’s action perched in second place in the Metropolitan Division standings.
The Oilers lead the way as -170 home favourites on Thursday’s NHL odds. The Penguins trail as +140 underdogs on the NHL moneyline, and the total is pegged at 6.5.
Penguins vs. Oilers NHL Betting Odds
The Oilers have dominated the Penguins in recent seasons, claiming victory in eight of nine meetings since 2019, and have outscored by a 21-6 combined margin while winning their past four meetings at home. While the Oilers have held the Pens to two or fewer goals six times during their current 8-1-0 head-to-head run, their past two clashed have been high-scoring affairs, highlighted the Oilers 6-4 victory in Pittsburgh back on December 16. Despite losing three of their past five overall, the Oilers have enjoyed stout defensive play, with the club allowing just three total goals over their past four games while twice posting shutout wins. Accordingly, the UNDER has paid out in totals betting in four straight Oilers contests for the first time this season.
However, the Penguins have rediscovered their scoring touch since snapping a three-game slide in which they scored just two total goals, outgunning opponents by a 19-11 margin while winning three of four, with each of those victories coming by multi-goal margins. While the club has been prone to streaky play, the Penguins have produced steady results on the road of late, winning five of six while surrendering just 2.17 goals per game.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Most Metropolitan Division have struggled to generate consistent results of late, and the Penguins have seized that opportunity to make gains in the divisional standings, climbing into second place while going 9-2-2 over their past 13 games. Evgeni Malkin has emerged as a big contributor to the club’s recent success, tallying a point per game in eight outings since returning from injury, capped by a two-point performance in Wednesday’s win over the Flames. Yegor Chinakhov potted his fourth goal since joining the club earlier this month, which proved to be the game winner, and has seen three of the five points he had picked up since his arrival come on the road.
Sidney Crosby continues to lead the Penguins attack, picking up two points three times during a four-game points streak and has tallied nine points over his past seven games. However, the blue line has been struck by injuries, with both Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson missing Wednesday’s contest, leaving their status uncertain for Thursday. That is not great news for a Pens squad that has lost eight of 10 when playing in the back half of games played on back-to-back nights.
Edmonton Oilers
After potting 11 total goals in back-to-back shutout wins over Vancouver and St. Louis, the Oilers attack sputtered on Tuesday night, mustering just 23 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Devils. Matt Savoie picked up his first goal since the club’s 6-4 win Pittsburgh last month, while Tristan Jarry turned aside 15 of 17 shots face and has now earned a losing decision in five of his past six outings when facing 23 or fewer shots. Zach Hyman had his chances while recording a team-high five shots on goal, and with seven goals on 28 total shots over the past eight games, the veteran winger is worth backing as a +130 bet on the anytime goalscorer odds.
The team remains without Leon Draisaitl, who has taken a leave of absence to return to Germany to attend to a family matter. Jack Roslovic has seen a bump in ice time in Draisaitl’s offence and came through with a pair of goals in Saturday’s 6-0 rout in Vancouver, but has been held off the scoresheet in six straight home dates.
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