Avalanche vs Oilers Odds & Picks: Edmonton Looking To Stay Hot At Home

Two of the top five teams in the NHL according to the Odds Shark Power Rankings will square off in Edmonton on Friday night when the Oilers (45-26-6) host the Colorado Avalanche (55-16-6) as small home underdogs. The Avalanche vs Oilers prediction has the visitors as the league’s top-ranked team overall as they continue to battle the Florida Panthers for the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. 

Avalanche vs Oilers Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds 

These might be the two most exciting teams in the West based on star power alone, and they would not meet in the postseason until the conference finals, making this an extremely intriguing matchup. Colorado has lost consecutive games for the first time since March 10 following a 3-2 setback to the Seattle Kraken as a -280 road favorite on Wednesday. The Central Division-leading Avalanche had previously won nine games in a row.

Meanwhile, Edmonton has won three straight and nine of 11 to solidify its spot as the second-place team in the Pacific Division. The most impressive part of the three-game winning streak for the Oilers is that they have beaten three teams that are all fighting for playoff spots, outscoring the Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars by a combined score of 13-2.

Colorado has won two previous meetings with Edmonton this year (one at home and one on the road) in low-scoring games that went UNDER the total. In fact, the Avalanche have won the past three meetings with the Oilers – two of them at home – dating back to 2019 with the UNDER going 3-0 in those games.

Get the best Avalanche vs Oilers odds and lines available from our recommended sportsbooks for your favorite picks of the night.

Colorado May Have Been Caught Looking Ahead In Recent Losses

One of the biggest criticisms of the Avalanche over the past few seasons is that they lose games they should not to inferior opponents as big favorites. That has happened in each of Colorado’s last two games since putting together a nine-game winning streak, falling as a -185 favorite at home to the Washington Capitals before losing at Seattle.

Maybe the team was caught looking ahead to this game or simply underestimated both opponents, although Washington has the NHL’s best road record and will make the postseason. Whatever the case might be, the Avalanche are still unquestionably the West’s top team right now, and they are the only opposing team to win at Rogers Place since March 5. 

Edmonton’s Home Dominance Promising For Potential Playoff Run

Outside of that hiccup against this same opponent at home about two weeks ago, the Oilers have been awesome on their own home ice over the last couple of months. For a team known to falter down the stretch of the regular season and fizzle out in the postseason, that is very good news for fans and backers alike, especially in this spot.

Edmonton’s only real issue in its two losses lately has been a lack of scoring, with the team totaling just one goal in each of those two setbacks, including 2-1 to Colorado on April 9. The Avalanche vs Oilers prediction might like the visitors due to their more consistent play throughout the year, but the hosts have been playing better recently.

Avalanche vs Oilers Pick & Insights

Avalanche: Keys To Victory

Motivation seems to be all it takes for Colorado to turn it on, and this is the one that should be on the team’s radar in the final five games of the regular season. While the Avalanche meet probable playoff teams in four of their last five, they will be super motivated to try to shut down Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and their teammates again. They defeated this same team in a shootout two weeks ago with Nathan MacKinnon scoring the game-Sportsbook while keeping McDavid and Draisaitl off the scoresheet. 

Oilers: Keys To Victory

The odds of Edmonton holding Colorado to one goal here are pretty slim, but they did that through regulation and overtime in the last meeting before falling in the shootout. The Oilers obviously need to find a way to score more, and the Capitals and Kraken both put three on the board in beating this opponent over the past week. Edmonton has seen each of its two goaltenders play well lately too. If you are taking the hosts with your Avalanche vs Oilers pick, then you are hoping for a similar performance but a different result this time.

Odds Shark’s Computer Avalanche vs Oilers Prediction: Oilers +100

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