Three of the most talented scorers in the NHL will share the ice on Wednesday night from Toronto as Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers make their lone visit of the season to John Tavares, Auston Matthews, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are big favorites in the latest NHL betting odds.
How to Bet Oilers at Leafs NHL Hockey Odds & TV Info
#Oilers earn points in four straight but can’t snag the extra one in Nashville as a tight battle goes all the way to a shootout where the Preds came out on top. pic.twitter.com/4oOawAmvWR
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) 26 de febrero de 2019
- When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Scotiabank Arena
- TV: NHL Center Ice
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- NHL Betting Odds: Toronto Maple Leafs -250 / Edmonton Oilers +200 (Total 6.5)
Season Series
First of two meetings. Last year, the Leafs won both. It was 1-0 in Toronto behind 41 saves from Curtis McElhinney, who is no longer with Toronto. Zach Hyman scored in the first minute for the Maple Leafs. Laurent Brossoit made 22 saves for the Oilers. He’s no longer with the Oilers. Toronto star forward Auston Matthews missed the game.
The game in Edmonton last year ended 6-4. Oilers defenseman Kris Russell accidentally fired the puck into his own net late in the third period. Skating toward the net, Patrick Marleau was credited with the winner after Russell’s gaffe with 1:05 remaining. William Nylander had a goal and two assists for Toronto.
Why Bet on Edmonton?
The Oilers had a two-game winning streak snapped in a 3-2 shootout loss in Nashville on Monday. Brian Boyle scored in the fourth round, and Pekka Rinne made a pad save on Ty Rattie when the Oilers forward tried to extend the shootout. Kyle Turris and Ryan Ellis each hit the post as the first two shooters for Nashville in the tiebreaker. After Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators, Sam Gagner forced the shootout to sudden death.
The Oilers played without star center Connor McDavid, who sat out the second and last game of his NHL suspension for an illegal hit to the head. It is McDavid’s first career suspension; he will forfeit $134,408.60 in salary. The 21-year-old McDavid has just 88 penalty minutes in 267 career games. The Oilers went 1-0-1 in McDavid’s absence. He leads the Oilers with 32 goals and 53 assists and will play here.
Leon Draisaitl scored a pair of goals in Monday’s loss. Draisaitl’s first goal gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at the 2:08 mark of the first period, while his second tally of the night tied the game at two on the power play in the third frame. Draisaitl has picked up at least one point in each of his last seven games. The 23-year-old has 38 goals and 76 points in 62 games this season. He’s flirting with a 50-goal season.
Mikko Koskinen allowed two goals on 38 shots. Koskinen allowed two more goals in the shootout on Monday. The Oilers netminder now has a 16-14-4 record this season. He’s lost two of his last four games, but he hasn’t dropped a game in regulation during that stretch.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.79
- Shots: 29.39
- PP/PK Percentage: 21.98
Defense
- Goals: 3.31
- Shots: 31.24
- PP/PK Percentage: 23.96
Why Bet on Toronto?
Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas was fairly quiet on the NHL’s trade deadline Monday afternoon, only sending Par Lindholm to the Winnipeg Jets for Nic Petan in a swap of forwards. Toronto’s big move came on Jan. 29 when it acquired veteran defenseman Jake Muzzin in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Leafs won their second in a row Monday, 5-3 over Buffalo. Auston Matthews scored in a four-goal second period — Matthews’ goal made him the first Maple Leafs player to score 30 or more goals in the first three seasons of his career. Matthews’ goal gave the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead at the 5:24 mark of the second period. Matthews finished the night with a plus-1 rating, two penalty minutes, four shots on goal and two blocked shots in 18:07 of ice time. The 21-year-old has now picked up five points in his last four games and 11 points in his last seven. He has 30 goals and 58 points in 48 games this season.
Kasperi Kapanen scored a goal and added an assist. Kapanen provided some insurance late in the third period when he netted a shorthanded goal for Toronto’s fifth tally of the night. He also picked up a helper on a goal by Matthews. Kapanen has 19 goals and 40 points in 62 games this year.
Frederik Andersen made 31 saves for his 100th win for Toronto, the eighth goaltender in franchise history to accomplish the feat, requiring the fewest starts to do it. He owns 29-13-3 record with a 2.60 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage this season. He has just two regulation losses in his last 12 contests.
Defenseman Jake Gardiner is a question mark for Wednesday’s game. Gardiner sat out two games before All-Star break because of back spasms and he has missed the last two practices. “I don’t know for sure…obviously, it’s lingering,” said coach Mike Babcock when asked if Gardiner would play Wednesday. “If you’ve watched Jake’s game, he hasn’t been as active as he normally is, skating like he normally can.”
Nazem Kadri (concussion) was on the ice before Tuesday’s practice. Kadri did not skate with his teammates, but this was the first time he got back on the ice since he suffered a concussion last week. He’s not likely to play.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.56
- Shots: 32.10
- PP/PK Percentage: 21.74
Defense
- Goals: 2.84
- Shots: 32.79
- PP/PK Percentage: 19.63
Oilers vs Maple Leafs NHL Betting Trends
- Home team is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings
- Favorite is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings
- Edmonton is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games
- Edmonton is 3-12 SU in its last 15 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Edmonton’s last 7 games
- Toronto is 5-10 ATS in its last 15 games at home
- Toronto is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto’s last 5 games at home
Expert NHL Betting Prediction
Edmonton Oilers 2 – Toronto Maple Leafs 3
