San Jose Sharks vs. Edmonton Oilers Prediction, NHL Odds
McDavid returned on Wednesday for Edmonton, a game in which they won 4-3 over St. Louis. The Oilers are now two points behind L.A., Edmonton’s probable playoff opponent, for second in the Pacific Division.
San Jose’s all but clinched the worst record in the NHL this season and enter Edmonton having dropped seven straight contests. An inability to put the puck in the net has hurt the Sharks during this skid, that was until scoring seven times in Wednesday’s 8-7 loss at Minnesota. It’s a rebuilding year in San Jose, but they still have time to play spoiler before the NHL season ends.
Puck drop at Rogers Place gets started at 9:30 p.m. EDT with the Oilers -425 on the moneyline and -160 to cover the -1.5 puckline. The over-under is at 6.5 on the NHL odds.
Sharks vs. Oilers NHL Betting Odds
Edmonton comes into Friday having won 12 of their last 13 meetings with San Jose but the wins haven’t come easy. These teams two prior meetings this season have finished in 3-2 Oilers victories, the first one a home overtime win for Edmonton. San Jose’s now dropped six straight visits to Edmonton.
Goals have been easy to come by for the Oilers at home, as six of their last seven outings on home ice have finished over the total. Having McDavid back helps, as he notched a trio of assists in Wednesday’s home win. Five straight Sharks road contests have also finished over the total. No one allows more goals per game in the NHL this season than San Jose (3.79 per game)
San Jose Sharks
Goaltending has been a major letdown for the Sharks all season. Outside of Mackenzie Blackwood, who has since been traded, all of San Jose’s five goalies to play this season are below .900 save percentages. Alexandar Georgiev did get peppered for 44 shots on Wednesday, but allowed eight goals in a gut-punch overtime defeat at Minnesota.
The positive side is San Jose’s kids lit up the scoreboard in the loss. Macklin Celebrini had his first career NHL hat-trick, part of a five-point night. Will Smith finished with a goal and three assists. Celebrini’s now up to a team-high 62 points in 66 games. Veteran Tyler Toffoli is now one goal shy of his third 30-goal season, a feat he’s accomplished in 2015–16 and 2022–23.
Edmonton Oilers
McDavid’s presence in the lineup certainly provided a big boost on Wednesday but the Oilers remain quite banged up in all areas of their roster. On Wednesday Edmonton was without forwards Leon Draisaitl (lower body), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (illness), Trent Frederic (ankle, and Evander Kane (sports hernia, knee), defencemen Mattias Ekholm (undisclosed) and John Klingberg (lower body), and goalie Stuart Skinner (head). The lone player likely to return against San Jose is Nugent-Hopkins.
McDavid’s currently skating on the Oilers top line, centring Jeff Skinner and Connor Brown. The Oilers got two goals out of Brown on Wednesday, while Skinner’s potted two goals in Edmonton’s last four games. Skinner is two points shy of 700 on his career.
A win on Friday for the Oilers would also clinch them a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth straight season.
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