Friday’s NHL bet du jour: New Jersey at Edmonton

Joe (@pointshaving) and I (@stuckey2) put our heads together to come up with our consensus play of the day on the ice.

Thursday recap:

I can't say I can ever remember losing a bet on a team that had 60 shots on goal. The Hurricanes outshot the Avalanche 60-27, but lost 5-3. Cam Ward, ladies and gentlemen.

Moving on to Friday…

Oilers -1 +100

The New Jersey Devils are a perfect 5-0 on the road and head into Rogers Place to face off against Connor McDavid and the struggling Edmonton Oilers (3-7-1). Edmonton's biggest problem has been scoring goals, as they are dead last at 2.18 goals per game. It is somewhat surprising that the Oilers have been unable to find the back of the net, as they sport the National Hockey League's second-best shot attempt differential at +139. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils are fourth-worst at -73 shot attempts.

The results have not come to fruition yet for Edmonton, something the Carolina Hurricanes, who had 60 shots on goal last night, know all too well, but this is an extremely talented team with the best player in the National Hockey League. Connor McDavid has picked up right where he left off last season (100 points in 82 games), and it is hard to see an overachieving New Jersey team keeping him in check tonight. After all, the Devils finished an appalling 12-23-6 on the road last season, and although improvements have been made, they are unlikely to keep their current pace.

The Oilers have dropped consecutive home games and are looking to avoid their third straight defeat on home ice — something that has already happened once this season, but only happened once last season. We do not mind laying the -165 money line tonight, but feel creating a -1 puck line is the better alternative given Edmonton's struggle to get the results they deserve.

Fair Odds: Oilers -1 -110

If you don't have access to -1 NHL lines, you can create one yourself; simply split your risk on the money line and puck line to cancel each other out in the event Edmonton wins by a single goal. For example, for one unit risk:

Risk 0.62 to win 0.38 on ML -165
Risk 0.38 to win 0.62 on PL -1.5 +165

There are also online calculators you can use, such as this one.

Nothing else on the ice for Friday.

YTD: 13-12 +0.3 units

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