Two Canadian teams are set to take center stage on Hockey Night in Canada, with the Montreal Canadiens visiting the Edmonton Oilers.
All Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Montreal Canadiens (+195) vs. Edmonton Oilers (-245) Total: 6.5 (O-122, U+100)Even in a year where not much has been expected of the Montreal Canadiens, they’ve still managed to hang around and win hockey games. It’s not to say they’ve been perfect, far from it, but valuable young players are gaining experience that will help put this team back to contender status in the future.
Their opponent tonight is looking to return to the Western Conference Finals again, but the Oilers have struggled in certain aspects of their game through nearly two months and need to find more consistency.
Entering this contest, the Canadiens have posted a 6-4 record over their past ten games, while the Oilers sit at 5-5 over that same sample size. Even with that in mind, the Oilers are still sizable favorites in this matchup at -245 on the moneyline, while the Habs are priced at +195. Montreal is coming off an impressive victory over Calgary, where their goaltending stole the show, which could be something to watch for again tonight.
Looking toward the projected goalie matchup, the Canadiens are expected to turn towards Jake Allen once again, while the Oilers should do the same with Stuart Skinner. The Habs netminder has posted a 7-8 record, paired with a .898 save percentage, while Skinner is 6-5 with a .914 save percentage. Goaltending has been a struggle for the Oilers, and that’s an area that needs correcting if they have hopes of repeating last season’s success.
If the Oilers have hopes of returning to a solid playoff position, they’ll have to take care of teams they should beat, like the Canadiens. With a young defense core in Montreal, the Oilers’ talented forwards should be able to take full advantage and ultimately lead them to cover the puck line at +104.
Best Bet: Oilers puck line -1.5 (+104)
Four of the last five Oilers games have seen seven or more goals scored, while just one of the previous five Habs games has. That tells us that something will have to give tonight, and since we’re looking towards an Oilers victory by multiple goals, that likely means they found success doing what they do best, which is scoring goals. The Habs should be able to do enough to contribute goals in this matchup, so there’s some value in targeting the over 6.5 at -122.
Best Bet: Over 6.5 (-122)
You don’t often see a goal-scoring prop not listed in plus-money territory that you think is a reasonable price, but that’s precisely the case with Leon Draisaitl tonight. Draisaitl leads the Oilers over their past five games with five goals and has already tallied an absurd 16 goals and 22 assists in just 24 games on the campaign. It’s hard to envision a world where he can’t just have his way with the Habs tonight, meaning there’s definite value in looking toward his price to score at -102.
Best Prop: Leon Draisaitl to Record Over 0.5 Goals (-102)
