Canadiens vs Oilers 01/16/21 – Odds and NHL Betting Trends
3 years ago
by OddsShark (@OddsShark) – Sponsored Post
The Edmonton Oilers will be without goaltender Mike Smith on Saturday night when they open a two-game series with the visiting Montreal Canadiens at home, pegged as a -105 wager on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Smith suffered an undisclosed injury that has landed him on the long-term injured reserve and will force him to miss at least the next 10 games, starting with Saturday night’s matchup at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Canadiens vs Oilers | OddsShark Matchup Report
The 38-year-old Smith was expected to help shoulder the workload in the crease during this season’s compressed 56-game schedule. With Smith on the shelf, Mikko Koskinen is now expected to make his third start in net in four nights. Koskinen backstopped the club to a 5-2 win over Vancouver on Thursday night after getting lit up for five goals on 35 shots in a season-opening 5-2 loss to the Canucks on Wednesday.
Koskinen turned in middling results on home ice last season, going 9-6-3 in 18 starts, with total goals topping five in 12 of those outings. However, the 32-year-old Koskinen has enjoyed steady success in past dates against Montreal, going 3-0-1 in four previous meetings, capped by a 4-3 victory in the Canadiens’ last visit to Edmonton in December 2019.
In addition to padding the Oilers’ steady 10-2-1 record in their past 13 overall dates with Montreal, Koskinen’s last appearance against the Canadiens marked the seventh time the OVER has prevailed at online sports betting sites in the last 11 head-to-head matchups between these clubs.
Fortunately for Koskinen, his increased workload coincides with a fast start by the Oilers’ top shooters, as Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid combined for eight points in Thursday’s victory over Vancouver. However, Edmonton can expect to face a Canadiens squad on the rise in Saturday’s contest.
The Canadiens make the trip to Edmonton for meetings with the Oilers on Saturday and Monday after coming up just short in a 5-4 overtime loss in Toronto as +125 underdogs on Wednesday. Despite the loss, Montreal showed signs of turning the corner after enduring a sub-par regular season in 2019/20.
The additions of Josh Anderson and Joel Edmundson bolster a lineup that is built to frustrate high flying teams like the Oilers. Montreal’s talented young core is also poised to improve on an impressive offensive performance on the road last season, where the Canadiens were ranked a surprising ninth overall in goals scored per game.
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