Edmonton Will Keep Rolling Against Avalanche

Oilers vs. Avalanche, 9:30 ET

Sometimes you second guess your gut and go with what you assume is more of a logical conclusion. For example, in yesterday's game, there were a lot of signs pointing to the idea that there would be a lot of goals in the Rangers and Sabers games. My gut was saying that the under was the right play, but everything pointed to over. I ended up taking the over and it lost. A learning opportunity for me to just lay off if I have a gut feeling opposite of the logic. Let's get back to it as the season winds down.

The Oilers are having a really nice campaign and are led by Connor McDavid who is absolutely torching everyone with 151 points on the season. I have to assume he will be the NHL MVP this year, but that doesn't mean as much as a Stanley Cup trophy would. McDavid has been awesome though and will likely end the year leading the league in points, goals, and assists. It is also worth mentioning that Leon Draisaitl is having a great campaign for them and is second in the league in points. In fact, add in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Edmonton is the one team with three players who have 100+ points on the season. They could still move up in the standings, but even if they don't they likely won't fall further than second in the Pacific division. Tonight they have to face another playoff-bound team, the Avalanche. The Oilers are on a seven-game winning streak and the Avalanche are on a five-game winning streak.

Colorado doesn't have quite the star power that the Oilers are boasting this year. However, they do have Nathan MacKinnon on the squad and he too has over 100 points. They also are sitting in first place within their division. The issue for them is they are tied in points with the Dallas Stars and are at risk of dropping in the standings. They will make the playoffs, that isn't a concern, but the order is still to be determined. They've played the Oilers twice on the season with both games being won by Colorado in overtime. In the first game, only five goals were scored, in the second the teams combined for eleven, so unlike in yesterday's game, there really isn't any consistency between the two. They will have Alexandar Georgiev in the goal for them. He was in the net for the Avalanche in both of the games against Edmonton.

I think it is hard to beat a team three times and clearly these two teams are matched up fairly evenly. The best opportunity in this game is to take the Oilers on the moneyline. They are playing very good hockey, not that Colorado isn't. But, the Avalanche are also returning from a road trip and that can throw teams off as well.

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