Oilers Looking for Better Puck Luck in Toronto

Connor McDavid will take another crack at leading the Edmonton Oilers past his hometown team – but that task is as tough as ever as the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs look to sweep the season series Monday night. Toronto has gone an incredible 11-1-1 over its previous 13 games to vault up the Atlantic Division standings – and the Stanley Cup futures, as well.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Toronto opened as low as -190 but can be found as high as -220 in some spots (though -200 is standard at most books). The total sits at 6.5, with the OVER ranging between -104 and -107.

Edmonton News & Notes

A 4-1 win over the Bruins in Boston over the weekend provided a solid confidence boost for an Oilers team that still hasn’t won back-to-back games since late November. And they did their best to end their recent woes vs Toronto in the previous meeting between the teams, firing 37 shots on goal but scoring just once in a 4-1 defeat in Edmonton on December 14.

Earning a season series split will almost certainly require a better road effort from McDavid, who has looked like Wayne Gretzky on home ice but has been decidedly less prolific away from Rogers Place. And the Richmond Hill, Ontario native has been strangely quiet against the hometown Maple Leafs, with one assist in three career games at Scotiabank Arena.

Toronto News & Notes

A team boasting offensive talent like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares shouldn’t have much trouble scoring goals – and that has certainly been the case since the beginning of December, with the Leafs leading the NHL in scoring over that span. Nearly as impressive, Toronto has produced a whopping 43 goals at 5-on-5 during that stretch, second-most in the league.

Matthews’ recent scoring surge – the former No. 1 overall pick has 12 goals in his past 13 games – has moved him into contention for the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal scorer. Matthews enters the new week with 28 goals in 43 games, just three back of NHL leader David Pastrnak. But he has just four points (two goals, two assists) in six meetings with Edmonton.

Betting Pick: OVER

Edmonton showed promise offensively against the defensive-minded Bruins, and should fare better in its second go-around with a Toronto team that is lighting up the scoreboard but still has issues on the back end.