NHL Predictions – Monday, November 4:
It’s a quiet Monday night on the ice with just two games on the schedule in advance of 11 games on Tuesday. A quick recap of the NHL betting weekend saw favorites going 19-4 and home teams going 17-7. The “bad beat” of the weekend was for anyone who had the Under 6.5 goals in the Colorado/Nashville game on Saturday night. Nashville scored two empty-net goals in the final 74 seconds for a 5-2 win and, in the process, handed the Under bettors a horrible beat. I guess it’s true. It’s never Under till it’s Over. Let’s hope that tonight doesn’t hand us any bad beats. Here are tonight’s NHL predictions.
New Jersey Devils (-120; 6.5) at Edmonton Oilers
8:30 p.m. ET
It’s becoming painfully obvious to anyone watching the Edmonton Oilers that Connor McDavid has been holding back the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton has won both of its games since Connor was sidelined with an ankle injury that will keep him out of the lineup for the next few weeks. For anyone who thinks I am serious about the Oilers being better without Connor, I am not. What is true is that Leon Draisaitl is showing why he is one of the best players in the world and has eased the absence of the Oilers captain. Draisaitl has six points (three goals, three assists) in the two games without McDavid. After going the first 10 games without goal, Zach Hyman, who had 54 goals last season, has scored in back-to-back games.
Tonight, the Oilers host the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton is on the back end of a back-to-back and what I would call a “sandwich game” for the Oilers. Edmonton is 0-2 this season on the back end of back-to-backs, having been outscored 10-2 (4-1,6-1), losing to Calgary and Columbus. Why a “sandwich game,” you ask? The Oilers are coming off a hard-fought 4-2 win on Sunday over their bitter rivals, the Calgary Flames, and after tonight’s contest with New Jersey, it will be games against Pacific Division rivals Vegas and Vancouver. A Monday night game, in early November, against an Eastern Conference opponent sets up as a scheduled loss in my books
This game opened with both teams at (-110), but we are seeing the line move to the Devils, who are now a (-125) favorite. New Jersey is getting 49% of the bets and 69% of the money. In all seven New Jersey wins, they have covered the Puck Line (-1.5 goals). Five of the Oilers’ six losses this season have been by two or more goals. This game also sets up as an Over for me as well. The last six meetings between the two teams have had a combined 9, 5, 7, 7, 9, and 11 goals. My best bet in this game though will be the first period Over 1.5 goals (-160). New Jersey was blanked in their previous game, a 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames. Teams in their next game after being shutout have seen the first period Over cash in 17 of 20 games this season.
NHL Predictions: Devils ML (-125) – 1 unit
Devils -1.5 goals (+205) – ½ unit
Devils/Oilers 1st period Over 1.5 (-160) – 2 units
Devils/Oilers Over 6.5 (-110) – 1 unit
