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Montreal Canadiens vs. Edmonton Oilers NHL Picks | Preview

Its NHL betting time once again. The Montreal Canadiens vs. Edmonton Oilers is on tap tonight. Both will be trying to pick up a win with the line opening with Montreal as a -135 favorite in this matchup. The over/under is set at 5.5, here is the handicapping preview…

2011 NHL Hockey Free Predictions: Canadiens vs Oilers

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Montreal Canadiens (31-20-7) at Edmonton Oilers (17-32-8)
Date/Time: Thursday, February 17, 2011, 9:00 PM ET
Venue: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Broadcast: RDS (HD), CBC (HD)
Habs vs. Oilers Betting Lines from Bodog.com
 
Spread: MTL -1.5, EDM +1.5
Moneyline: Canadiens -135, Oilers +115
Over/Under: 5.5
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One of the better Canadian teams takes on by far the worst Canadian team in NHL Betting action of Thursday night. The Montreal Canadiens, fresh off a 4-3 shootout loss to Buffalo travel to Edmonton for a tune-up game ahead of the Heritage Classic that goes on Sunday afternoon. The Habs have been so-so as of late but are still right in the thick of the Northeast division race while the Oilers remain firmly in the race for the #1 overall pick in the NHL draft.

The Montreal Canadiens have gone 4-3-3 in their last 10 games and have been somewhat schizophrenic during those games. Last week they went from giving up eight goals to the Boston Bruins to shutting out the Leafs in the span of three days! It looks as if Mike Cammalleri will make his overdue return from injury, but not until Sunday. Cammalleri will be a welcome addition to a sluggish offense but it likely won’t be all that necessary against the hapless Oilers.

Montreal has gotten by with the 24th ranked offense in the NHL (2.6 goals per game). Unheralded players like David Desharnais (seven points in four games), Max Pacioretty (five points in four games) and Benoit Pouliot (three points in three games) have carried the team. On the flip side, Andrei Kostitsyn is pointless in seven games and Scott Gomez has just one point in his last four games.

The Habs will likely turn to Carey Price in goal on Thursday even though he has struggled in his career versus the Oilers. He is 1-0-1 in his last two games overall with a 0.96 goals against average but is 0-4-0 lifetime against the Oilers with a 4.20 goals against average. Price is 0-2-0 in his career in Edmonton with a 5.24 goals against average.

The Edmonton Oilers continue to be the worst team in the NHL. They are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games overall but are coming off a 4-1 home win versus the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. Edmonton is bottom three in the league in both goals for and goals against.

Edmonton welcomed back Shawn Horcoff to the lineup and he made an immediate contribution to the NHL’s 28th ranked offense (2.5 goals per game). Jordan Eberle has led the way for Edmonton offensively with seven points in his last seven games while Ales Hemsky has four points in his last three games. The Oilers will need better play from Taylor Hall (no points in three games) and Sam Gagne (one point in five games) if the team wishes to be competitive. The league’s worst power play (12%) needs to step up as well!

Defensively, the Oilers finally got a win from Nikolai Khabibulin on Tuesday night after 14 straight losses. In his last two appearances, Khabibulin is 1-0-0 with a 0.77 goals against average.

Betting Prediction: The Montreal Canadiens are 12-13-1 on the road this season and are just 1-7 in their last eight trips to Rexall Place. The Edmonton Oilers are 8-17-4 at home this season and are 29-78 in their last 108 games overall.

The Oilers are the worst team in the NHL for a reason. Every once in a while they come up with a good performance like Tuesday night’s effort against Dallas. But those efforts are few and far between. Expect the Habs to buck the NHL Betting trend and secure a rare win in Edmonton as a tune-up for the Heritage Classic on Sunday.

NHL Trends:

Under is 7-3 in MON last 10 Thu. games.
Under is 7-3 in MON last 10 vs. Northwest.
Under is 34-15-4 in MON last 53 road games.
Under is 7-2 in EDM last 9 games following a win.
EDM are 7-23 in their last 30 vs. Northeast.
EDM are 29-78 in their last 107 overall.
MON are 1-7 in the last 8 meetings in Edmonton.
Over is 9-2-1 in the last 12 meetings.

Pick: Montreal Canadiens

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By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.