Edmonton Oilers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Guide: Can the Visitors Pull Off a Massive Upset?
Edmonton Oilers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Moneyline, Total and Odds
Moneyline: Oilers +168 | Lightning -205
Spread: Oilers +1.5 (-154) | Lightning +1.5 (+126)
Total: 6.5 Over -114 | Under -106
Odds courtesy of Fanduel Sportsbook.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning News, Analysis, and Picks
Twice a year, Western Conference teams get to play an Eastern Conference opponent. The Edmonton Oilers will be getting their fill of inter-conference foes as they kick-off a five-game road trip, with four of those contests coming against Eastern Conference clubs. That starts Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who haven’t played in over a week ago, a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
There’s a delicate line between rest and rust, and the Bolts are teetering towards the latter. Tampa has played just one game over the past 12 days and their metrics were suffering before the layoff. The Lightning have been outplayed at five-on-five in three of their past five games and five of their past nine. Defensively, the Bolts have been lacking recently, giving up 10 or more high-danger chances at five-on-five in four of nine and 12 or more across all strengths in six of nine. That puts them in a bad spot against an Oilers attack that is thriving under Jay Woodcroft’s new system.
Edmonton’s offense is operating efficiently, attempting 11 or more high-danger chances at five-on-five in three of their previous five contests, going north of 13 across all strengths in four of five. That doesn’t accurately reflect the Oilers’ recent proficiency, as they’ve equaled or out-chanced their opponents in every game with a rolling average of 15.4 quality chances per game. Those offensive metrics have staked the Oilers to a cumulative 61.9% expected goals-for rating over the five-game sample.
The Oilers come into Wednesday night’s matchup with solid underlying metrics. Opposite of them are the Bolts, who have struggled over their recent sample and have played only one game in nearly two weeks. We’re giving the edge to the Oilers tonight and are backing them to win outright.
The Picks: Oilers +168
All NHL predictions and picks are courtesy of SportsGrid.
