Oilers Battle Habs for Final Time Before Playoffs

The Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens play the rubber match of their season series Wednesday evening, with the teams having split their eight previous meetings. Earlier this week, it looked like the Oilers and Habs might have been destined to play each other in the first round of the playoffs, but Tuesday’s results determined Montreal will play Toronto while Edmonton takes on Winnipeg.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The game opened with the even odds on both the Habs and Oilers but the line has shifted in Edmonton’s favor in the -115 to -120 range depending on the sportsbook. The total opened at 6 and has stayed at that number with the UNDER favored in the -112 to -120 range.

Edmonton News & Notes

The Oilers head into their final two games of the season having won seven of their last 10, including a 4-3 overtime win over the Habs on Monday. The Oilers did outshoot the Canadiens at even strength on Monday, but the positive possession numbers pretty much ended there for Edmonton.

At even strength, the Oilers were out-chanced 28-15, had fewer high-danger scoring chances (11-9 for Montreal) and had an expected goals for percentage of just 38.23.

But having the best hockey player on the planet can make up for some team deficiencies. Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist to bring his season totals to 33 goals and an astounding 102 points. McDavid now has 21 more points than the NHL’s second-leading scorer, teammate Leon Draisaitl.

Both McDavid and Draisaitl are healthy and expected to play Wednesday but bettors should monitor the situation leading up to puck drop as one or both could be in line for a reduced role before the playoffs.

Montreal News & Notes

Despite being the better team at even strength on Monday night, the Canadiens came up short and head into their final game of the regular season having lost four in a row and six of their last 10. Finding the back of the net has been the biggest issue for a Canadiens team that has scored more than three goals just once in its last 11 outings.

The team is dealing with some significant injuries as starting goalie Carey Price, captain Shea Weber, center Phillip Danault and heart-and-soul winger Brendan Gallagher were all absent from Monday’s game and will miss Wednesday’s as well. Winger Jonathan Drouin is also missing from the Habs lineup for personal reasons.

With Price out of the lineup, Jake Allen is likely to make his 30th start of the season. Allen is 11-12-5 this year with a .907 save percentage.

Betting Pick: Oilers -120