The Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets are tied for second place in the seven-team, all-Canadian North Division, and one team is set to separate itself from the other when they match up on Thursday, March 18. The game is set to take place from Rogers Place in Edmonton, and it will get started at 9 p.m. ET. This will be the first game of a two-game series between these teams.
Edmonton will enter Thursday’s game with 38 points through 32 games with a 19-13 record. Winnipeg is 18-9-2 this season for 38 points. Both teams are two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the best mark in the division.
Edmonton will play its first home game since finishing off a three-game road trip on Wednesday night where the Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 7-3 to split a two-game series between the two. The NHL’s scoring leader Connor McDavid finished with one goal and a pair of assists. He now has 18 goals on the season and leads the league with 38 assists and 56 points.
Other goal scorers for the Oilers included Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jesse Puljujarvi, Dominik Kahun, Darnell Nurse, Zack Kassian and Alex Chiasson. In addition, Tyson Barrie finished with a career-high four assists, and Leon Draisatl chipped in three assists.
Edmonton goalie Mike Smith finished with 30 saves in the victory.
The Jets also split a two-game series with their last opponent, which was the Montreal Canadiens. After losing the first game, Winnipeg beat Montreal 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night at home. The Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers scored early in the overtime period for the win.
Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor scored a pair of goals, and Blake Wheeler added one. Pierre-Luc Dubois finished with three assists in the victory, and goalie Connor Hellebuyck had 33 saves. Ehlers and Paul Stastny both finished with one assist for the Jets.
The only player in question on Wednesday’s injury report is Edmonton’s Jujhar Khaira, who is questionable with an upper body injury. He was involved in a fight with Brett Ritchie in Monday’s 4-3 road loss to the Flames.
The Oilers and Jets are 2-2 in their season series this year, splitting each of their first two series. Edmonton came away with a 3-2 win at home the last time these two teams played each other on Feb. 17.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers Betting Info
A number of betting options are available for Thursday night’s game, but here’s a look at the main betting categories including puck line, total goals and moneyline odds with some of the most recent betting trends for each team.
All odds are via a popular United States sportsbook.
Puck Line
The puck line is set -1 for Edmonton with +115 odds, while Winnipeg is getting -136 odds to cover +1.
Betting Trends: Edmonton won by more than one goal 11 times this season through 32 games. Winnipeg lost by more than one goal just five times in 29 games.
Total Goals
Oddsmakers set the over/under at 6.5, which is the highest number of any NHL game being played on Thursday, though the odds show the under is more likely. The under is getting -117 odds with over at -105.
Betting Trends: The total went over in each of the last eight games involving Winnipeg, and the over hit in four of Edmonton’s last five. In the last five meetings between these two teams, the over is 4-1.
Moneyline
As the favorite, Edmonton is getting -141 odds to earn a victory in this game with the Jets at +123 to pull off the slight upset as road underdogs.
Betting Trends: Winnipeg is 9-4 straight up in its last 13 games overall and against the Oilers. Edmonton is 5-2 on the moneyline in its last seven games.
What’s Next?
The Jets and Oilers will meet up again in the same building on Saturday, March 20 for the second of a two-game series. The game will get started at 10 p.m.
