Sportswagers
Florida @ EDMONTON
EDMONTON +108 over Florida
OT included. We’ve been preaching all season about goaltending being the biggest factor in the outcome of 90% of games. Every night in the NHL we see proof of it. Yesterday it was Nashville over Minnesota, Calgary over Vancouver, Washington over Detroit (Wings held the Caps to 17 shots on net), the Rangers over San Jose, Ottawa over Phoenix, Winnipeg over Los Angeles and Colorado over Dallas. In all those games, the shots on net were in favor of the loser, with the exception of New York, who outshot San Jose by one. When the Oilers couldn’t buy a win it wasn’t because they were playing poorly, it was because their goaltending was brutal (see Minnesota). It’s no coincidence that since Ben Scrivens has stepped it up the results have been different for Edmonton. Scrivens has stopped 138 of the last 149 shots directed his way. That's a .926 save percentage, much better than his .882 save percentage before the Oilers switched coaches. Before we pull the trigger on Edmonton here, we are going to make sure that Scrivens gets the call. We can’t imagine he won’t be in net but we’ll still need confirmation. Betting an NHL team without knowing which goaltender is starting is akin to betting on a baseball team without knowing who the starting pitcher is. What we know for sure is that the Oilers have renewed confidence. They have recent 5-2 wins over both the Islanders and Blackhawks and have picked up points in five of their past six games. The Oilers only loss over that span occurred against Detroit.
Florida is coming off a bizarre game against Calgary in which they outlasted the Flames 6-5. The Panthers have won three of their last four games but this might be the toughest assignment of them all. Florida will play its fifth straight on the road here. They started out in Buffalo and then it was on to Washington, Vancouver and Calgary. They looked sloppy and fatigued in Calgary and we certainly don’t trust them to be sharper or less fatigued here. The Panthers have allowed four goals or more in three of their past five games and will now go from -20 C in Calgary to -24 C in Edmonton. We saw the Blackhawks suffer from fatigue under very similar circumstances on Friday night in Edmonton and we trust the Panthers to suffer a similar fate. The Panthers have been road favorites just twice this entire season and both those games were in Buffalo. Well, the Oilers are better than many teams that the Panthers were a dog against on the road, which makes it clear that the value is on the home dog here. Florida is wrongly billed as the chalk in this very unfavorable spot.
Just to be clear, Scrivens must start or this is a no play and we’ll update it as soon as we get word that he is starting.
Our Pick
EDMONTON +108 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.16)
Florida @ EDMONTON
EDMONTON +108 over Florida
OT included. We’ve been preaching all season about goaltending being the biggest factor in the outcome of 90% of games. Every night in the NHL we see proof of it. Yesterday it was Nashville over Minnesota, Calgary over Vancouver, Washington over Detroit (Wings held the Caps to 17 shots on net), the Rangers over San Jose, Ottawa over Phoenix, Winnipeg over Los Angeles and Colorado over Dallas. In all those games, the shots on net were in favor of the loser, with the exception of New York, who outshot San Jose by one. When the Oilers couldn’t buy a win it wasn’t because they were playing poorly, it was because their goaltending was brutal (see Minnesota). It’s no coincidence that since Ben Scrivens has stepped it up the results have been different for Edmonton. Scrivens has stopped 138 of the last 149 shots directed his way. That's a .926 save percentage, much better than his .882 save percentage before the Oilers switched coaches. Before we pull the trigger on Edmonton here, we are going to make sure that Scrivens gets the call. We can’t imagine he won’t be in net but we’ll still need confirmation. Betting an NHL team without knowing which goaltender is starting is akin to betting on a baseball team without knowing who the starting pitcher is. What we know for sure is that the Oilers have renewed confidence. They have recent 5-2 wins over both the Islanders and Blackhawks and have picked up points in five of their past six games. The Oilers only loss over that span occurred against Detroit.
Florida is coming off a bizarre game against Calgary in which they outlasted the Flames 6-5. The Panthers have won three of their last four games but this might be the toughest assignment of them all. Florida will play its fifth straight on the road here. They started out in Buffalo and then it was on to Washington, Vancouver and Calgary. They looked sloppy and fatigued in Calgary and we certainly don’t trust them to be sharper or less fatigued here. The Panthers have allowed four goals or more in three of their past five games and will now go from -20 C in Calgary to -24 C in Edmonton. We saw the Blackhawks suffer from fatigue under very similar circumstances on Friday night in Edmonton and we trust the Panthers to suffer a similar fate. The Panthers have been road favorites just twice this entire season and both those games were in Buffalo. Well, the Oilers are better than many teams that the Panthers were a dog against on the road, which makes it clear that the value is on the home dog here. Florida is wrongly billed as the chalk in this very unfavorable spot.
Just to be clear, Scrivens must start or this is a no play and we’ll update it as soon as we get word that he is starting.
Our Pick
EDMONTON +108 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.16)
