- What: Montreal Canadiens vs Edmonton Oilers
- When: Tuesday, March 19th
- Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton
The Edmonton Oilers will be looking to keep their hot streak alive on Tuesday when they welcome the lowly Montreal Canadiens to town for an all-Canadian matchup. The puck is scheduled to drop at 9 PM ET. The Habs have lost two in a row and fell to the Calgary Flames on Saturday by a score of 5-2. Edmonton is also coming off a loss to the Colorado Avalanche but overall, has been playing well over the last couple of weeks. Below, find the Canadiens vs Oilers picks.
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Canadiens vs Oilers Odds
| Team |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | +314 | +320 | +315 |
| Edmonton Oilers | -363 | -370 | -365 |
The Oilers are a massive favorite at -363 on the moneyline. That's an implied win probability of 78.40. The Canadiens return as a +314 underdog and have a 24.15% chance of winning this one at Rogers Place in Oil Country. Edmonton won the last meeting with Montreal by a score of 2-1 but the Habs won two of the previous three before that.
Tough Year For Montreal
Another season, another write-off for the Habs. Montreal sits in seventh place in the always competitive Atlantic Division with a 25-31-11 record, which is second-last ahead of only the Ottawa Senators. It's pretty clear this organization isn't improving as we've seen over the last few years. The Canadiens are in the midst of a two-game losing streak and own a 3-4-3 record in their last 10 outings.
Montreal is towards the bottom of the league in both goals scored and goals allowed, ranking 26th and 27th, respectively. There's not much the Habs are doing right. While they did give the high-flying Boston Bruins a run for their money on Thursday in a 2-1 overtime defeat, it was a much different story on Saturday in Calgary, conceding five times. Cole Caufield and David Savard scored the lone goals for Montreal. You could just see the inconsistency in this matchup after putting their best foot forward against Boston and then falling flat on their faces versus a Flames team that is by no means elite.
The Habs' blue line will definitely be tested against the Oilers, with the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman all having wonderful seasons. This could end up being a blowout in favor of Edmonton depending on what version we get of Montreal.
Oilers Are Thriving
Edmonton started the season in poor fashion but proceeded to win 16 straight games to get themselves back into contention. Since then, the Oilers are flourishing and now sitting just eight points behind the Vancouver Canucks for first place in the Pacific Division with three games in hand. The gap is quickly closing and that divisional title remains a serious possibility. The Oilers are 7-1-2 in their last 10 contests and did grab a pair of dominant victories over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals before the loss to the Avs in overtime.
That matchup with Colorado had a playoff feel. The Avalanche opened the scoring in the second before Warren Foegele and Sam Carrick scored for Edmonton. Sean Walker's second goal forced OT where Artturi Lehkonen bagged a last-minute winner to give his team the victory. It was a massive surprise to not see Draisaitl nor McDavid tally a point and that's what happened here. It's very rare to see the two superstars not contribute but you can definitely expect them to be in the mix on Tuesday, especially given Montreal's poor defense.
The Oilers are always an offensive powerhouse and that's no different in 2023-24, sitting fourth in goals with 3.52 per contest. But, they've also improved a ton defensively, allowing the ninth-fewest goals per night. McDavid leads the way with 106 points, while Draisaitl sits at 86. Hyman and Evan Bouchard are both over 60 points as well. Overall, there are 11 players on this roster with a minimum of 20 points. As we saw against Colorado, if the big guns aren't getting it done, they have enough depth to still produce. That's the definition of a good hockey team.
Canadiens vs Oilers Picks
I don't see any way the struggling Habs are going to roll into Edmonton and win this one. Plus, the Oilers have a 21-8-3 record at Rogers Place this season. That alone is enough for me to take the home team on the moneyline.
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