Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Edmonton Oilers Matchup 10/23/18

Two teams facing each other for the first time this year, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Edmonton Oilers face off at Rogers Place in a cross-continent tilt. The first puck will drop at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 23, and fans at home will be able to witness the game live on Sportsnet ONE.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Edmonton Oilers Odds

Pittsburgh heads into the game as the favorite with a moneyline of -125. The line for Edmonton sits at +105 and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -115 money on the over and -105 on the under.

Edmonton is 3-3 straight up (SU) and has earned 0.6 units for moneyline bettors this season. That early-season winning percentage is right in line with the 36-46 record the team produced during the 2017-18 season campaign. Through six regular season contests, four of the team’s games have gone under the total, while two have gone over and none have pushed. The team’s 1-1 SU at home this year.

The Oilers have successfully found the net on 27.8 percent of their power play chances in 2018-19. That’s a big improvement from last season, when they were ranked 31st in the league by scoring on 14.8 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 76.7 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 25th overall last season) to 77.8 percent this year.

The Oilers, as a collective unit, have been penalized 3.7 times per game this season, a number that is pretty close to the 3.6 penalties per game they gave up last year. After serving an average of 9.2 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 7.8 minutes per outing this season.

Averaging 25.7 saves per game with a .906 save percentage, Cam Talbot (3-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Oilers this season.

Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will both spearhead the attack for the Oilers. McDavid (11 points) has tallied four goals and seven assists while Nugent-Hopkins has two goals and five assists to his name so far in the early stages of the season.

On the other side of the rink, Pittsburgh is 3-3 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. A total of three of its contests have gone under the total, while two have gone over and one has pushed. The Penguins are 1-1 SU as the road team this season.

The Pens have recorded a goal on 26.7 percent of their power play chances this year after successfully converting on 25.7 percent of their extra-man opportunities last season (which ranked them first league-wide in that category). The team’s gone from killing off 80.4 percent of opponent power plays (ranked 14th overall last season) to 92.9 percent in 2018-19.

Pittsburgh’s skaters have been penalized only 2.5 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.0, which was the eighth-worst mark in the league. After serving an average of 9.4 penalty minutes per game a year ago (ninth-most in the league), the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for only 5.0 minutes per outing this season.

Casey DeSmith (31.7 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Pittsburgh. DeSmith owns a 1-2-2 record, while registering a .922 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average this year.

For the visiting Penguins, the offense will be coordinated by Evgeni Malkin, who has nine assists and three goals this year.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Edmonton Oilers Betting Predictions

NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Over

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