NHL Best Bets: Avalanche vs. Oilers Game Picks

The Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche are set to collide tonight for the first time since they met in the Western Conference Finals last season.

All Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Colorado Avalanche (+105) vs. Edmonton Oilers (-126) Total: 6.5 (O-104, U-118)

Colorado made easy work of the Oilers in their playoff matchup, defeating them in a comfortable four-game sweep. The Avalanche have gone through a plethora of injuries in 2022-23 and have seen their results suffer after capturing the Stanley Cup. They’ve started to get healthier slowly, but the results haven’t been there of late, which have seen them post a 4-5-1 record after three straight losses. The Oilers haven’t been much better, as they sit at 4-4-2 over that same sample size. 

It’s certainly interesting that despite these teams having excellent seasons last year, only the Oilers are clinging to a playoff spot right now in the eighth position in the Western Conference. There’s still a lot of runway left for these teams to correct their first-half results, but it’s still very noteworthy to monitor where they currently stand. 

Looking toward the projected goalie matchup tonight, the visiting Avalanche are expected to continue riding Alexandar Georgiev, while the Oilers should do the same with Stuart Skinner. The Avalanche netminder has posted a 15-10-3 record, paired with a .915 save percentage, while Skinner is sitting at 12-10-1 with a .914 save percentage. There have been many similarities between these respective netminders, which factors into the close prices on the moneyline, with the Oilers listed as slight favorites at -126 while the Avs are priced at +105. 

There just hasn’t been the consistent play you’d like to see from the Avalanche to kick off the new year, and there’s not enough value built into their odds tonight to consider them. The Oilers have been playing slightly better hockey of late, and their moneyline price of -126 is worthy of targeting. 

Best Bet: Oilers moneyline (-126) 

Over the past five Avalanche games, three of those matchups have seen seven or more goals scored, while just two of the previous five Oilers games have gone over that number. Even with the injuries the Avalanche have had on offense, it’s still shocking to see them sitting 25th in the NHL in goals scored per game while the Oilers are all the way up in third.

The script is flipped in terms of goals allowed per game, meaning there’s some cloudiness about what bettors should expect in this matchup. With Colorado getting some of their top players back in the lineup, there’s value in targeting the over 6.5, which is priced at an appealing number of -104. 

Best Bet: Over 6.5 (-104) 

Anytime you can get the most talented player in the NHL to score in plus-money odds, it’s hard to pass up, and that’s exactly the case with Connor McDavid tonight. The Oilers’ superstar forward currently leads the NHL with 33 goals, and with Edmonton notoriously known to score at a high clip, there’s definite value in his odds of finding the back of the net in this matchup at home.

McDavid leads the Oilers with three goals and six assists over the team’s past five games, and with a big stage set for tonight’s matchup, you know he’s going to want to get on the scoresheet after how last year’s playoff series ended up. McDavid is currently listed at +104 to score, and that’s a difficult price point to ignore. 

Best Prop: Connor McDavid to Record Over 0.5 Goals (+104)