An Edmonton Oilers Betting Preview
2 years ago
Are you interested in what the sportsbooks think of the Edmonton Oilers heading into the 2021-22 season? Well, then you’ve come to the right spot. Meaningful hockey starts in just over a week and I figured that now would be a good time to head over to Pointsbet.com and check out where the Oilers sit on the odds board in a handful of different categories.
There are a lot of different ways to wager on the Oilers this season if that is your thing and I took a look at five that really caught my attention. Regardless of if you’re the type that enjoys throwing a little bit of money down on your favourite hockey team, it’s still interesting to see where they rank in comparison to other teams in the league.
SEASON POINT TOTAL (over/under 99.5)
Can the Oilers be a 100 point team? It’s certainly possible. They finished last season with 72 points in 56 games, which works out to roughly 105 points over an 82 game season. Back in 2019-20, they were on pace for about 96 points when the season was cancelled.
Since they’re moving back to the Pacific Division, they won’t get the benefit of beating up on the Ottawa Senators like they did last season. However, the Pacific isn’t exactly strong with the likes of San Jose and Anaheim in the mix. There are no guaranteed wins in the NHL, but playing in a pretty soft division is certainly beneficial to the Oilers.
There are only seven other teams with their total set at 99.5 or higher and the only team in their division with a higher number is the Vegas Golden Knights, who are at 106.5.
I think they can be a 100 point team, but I’m still not sure how confident I am in that. The quality of their division leaves me thinking the over is a smart play but this line is set really well in my opinion. I could see them finishing the year with between 98-102 points.
TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS (-400)
The sportsbooks are saying that the Oilers are essentially a lock to make the playoffs this season. If you were to put $100 on them at these odds, you would only walk away with a profit of $25. Now, some of you might be thinking that this is just free money, but I would be hesitant to bet anything with this kind of odds. The Oilers should make the playoffs, but the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze here.
I did find it interesting that the Calgary Flames are +125 to miss the playoffs this season. When you consider that there might only be three playoff teams in the Pacific Division, I don’t mind wagering on the Flames to be on the outside looking in this year. I also like the line on the Winnipeg Jets, who are -150 to make the playoffs.
TO WIN THE PACIFIC (+375)
As you probably could have guessed, the Oilers are second to Vegas on the odds board and the Golden Knights are pretty big favourites sitting at -175.
There are some pretty legit reasons to think that the Vegas Golden Knights could be worse than they were last season. First off, they lost Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury and replaced him with career backup Laurent Brossoit. Yes, this just means that Robin Lehner will have to take on a bigger workload, but the fact is that they don’t have the same elite tandem that they did last season.
They also didn’t really do much to address their biggest need this offseason, which was their centre depth. Nolan Patrick has upside, but he hasn’t proven much at the NHL level and as it stands right now, Chandler Stephenson is still listed as the top centre on their depth chart.
I think they’ll likely win the division, but it’s not as much of a slam dunk as the odds might lead you to believe. The Oilers are interesting at this price point but they have plenty of flaws of their own, so I don’t think I’m putting any money on them to win the division. The Seattle Kraken have the third-best odds at +900.
OILERS TO WIN THE STANLEY CUP (+2600)
The Oilers sit in a group of four teams that are all 26-1 to win the Stanley Cup this season. They have the same odds as the Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild, and Dallas Stars. That sounds about right to me.
They aren’t quite at the level of “elite Cup contender”, which is an incredibly disappointing thing to type out as we head into Connor McDavid’s seventh season in the NHL. I don’t mind the teams they’re surrounded by either. Washington and Dallas have the potential to go on deep playoff runs if they get solid goaltending and stay healthy. The same goes for Minnesota. They’re coming off a very impressive season and if Cam Talbot can bring the same level that he did last season, they’ll be fine.
There are also ten other teams with better odds than the Oilers and a few surprised me. The Rangers are up at 23-1, which seems overpriced. The Penguins also being at 23-1 was also a little surprising because I think they’re far from a lock to even be a playoff team considering the injuries they’re currently dealing with.
Below the Oilers on the odds board, I was surprised to see a team like the Winnipeg Jets, who are all the way down at 41-1. Connor Hellebuycyk is one of the five best goalies in the league, I really like their forward depth, and they improved their blueline this offseason. If you wanted to throw some money on a value team to go deep, the Jets would be a decent pick.
TO WIN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE – 10.00
The Oilers are 10-1 to come out of the Western Conference and make the Stanley Cup Final. They’re behind only the Avalanche (3-1) and Golden Knights (4-1). Honestly, the Avalanche at 3-1 is an interesting bet to me if you’re looking for someone outside of the Oilers to wager on.
Also, the Winnipeg Jets are 21-1. For the same reasons I listed above, that is interesting.
What’s your take? Are the Oilers being undervalued? Overvalued? Let me know in the comments!
ARTICLE BROUGHT TO YOU BY PointsBet Canada
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