NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Oilers vs. Ducks
Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images. Pictured Connor McDavid
- The Anaheim Ducks host the Edmonton Oilers in an NHL tilt on Wednesday night.
- Anaheim is in the race for the No. 1 pick in next season's draft, while Edmonton needs these two points to stay in the thick of the playoff race.
- Continue reading for a full breakdown of this matchup, including a betting pick.
Oilers vs. Ducks Odds
| Oilers Odds | -250 |
| Ducks Odds | +202 |
| Over/Under | 7 (+118/-144) |
| Time | 10 p.m. ET |
| TV | SN1 |
| Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
The Anaheim Ducks host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night in a matchup of one team floundering and another that is desperate for points as the playoff race heats up.
With the regular season now more than halfway completed, the Oilers currently sit outside of the Western Conference playoff picture based on points percentage.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have combined for 139 points in just 42 games, but are staring down a potentially shocking playoff miss while skating on a flawed roster.
Wednesday's matchup versus an Anaheim Ducks team sitting at 12-25-4 offers two must-have points for the Oilers.
Edmonton Oilers
To the surprise of no one, Edmonton has again been one of the league's most dominant offensive teams this season and has scored 3.50 goals for per game in 41 contests.
A suspect defensive core and a lack of true play-driving forwards have often been too much for the Oilers to overcome, and has an unthinkable playoff miss a slight possibility.
Edmonton has actually controlled play to a 52.05 xGF% across all strengths over its last 10 games, which is a positive note that things could potentially get better moving forward.
Edmonton made some obvious mistakes on Monday in Los Angeles as a plethora of penalties led to four power play goals for Los Angeles and put the game out of reach.
The kind of mistakes made in that loss are preventable, however, and this presents a rare chance for a number of the Oilers depth skaters to carry far more of the play at even strength.
Jack Campbell will make the start in goal for the Oilers. Campbell has played to a -12.5 goals saved above expected rating and .877 save % in 19 games.
Anaheim Ducks
The opportunity to draft Connor Bedard offers an extremely appealing reason to be bad this season. A number of organizations have situated their rosters to be extremely awful and we are seeing a competitive race for last place.
Anaheim has arguably been the league's worst team to this point, even if its 28 points are above Columbus and Chicago. A -73 goal differential is league bottom by 15, and the Ducks have lost 23 of 41 games by two or more goals.
With an xGF% of 38.86 in 41 games, the Ducks are on pace to become the first NHL team since the 2014-15 Sabres to finish the season with an expected goals rating below 40%.
Over the last 10 games that mark has actually regressed, as Anaheim has played to a shockingly poor xGF% of 34.34.
Jamie Drysdale's injury was a massive blow to Anaheim's already porous defensive core, and his absence has been especially crucial as veterans such as Kevin Shattenkirk and John Klingberg have been downright horrible.
Offensively, Anaheim is skating very little in the way of meaningful talents, and potential attempts to replace skaters in well below replacement level form simply are not being made.
Trevor Zegras missed practice Tuesday due to illness, and his status for this contest is unclear.
John Gibson will likely start for Anaheim. Gibson has played to a -8.8 GSAx rating and .898 save % in 27 appearances.
Oilers vs. Ducks Pick
This is the perfect spot for the Oilers to get right and claim two points it simply can not afford to drop.
Anaheim does not feature the personnel to keep McDavid, Draisaitl and company in check, and this should prove a great spot for Edmonton's other roster flaws to be hidden.
The Ducks feature very little offensive talent outside of Terry and Zegras, which is going to help Edmonton manage in this spot significantly better than it does versus deeper offensive teams.
My expectation is that McDavid and Draisaitl play a very inspired contest here and go off with massive offensive nights, leading the way to a somewhat comfortable Oilers win.
In this spot, +104 is a good price to back Edmonton to cover -1.5, and I would back the Oilers down to -110 on the puck line.
Pick: Oilers -1.5 (-110 or Better) |
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