NHL Betting Roundup: Oilers Look Good In Preseason

There is tons of excitement in Edmonton with Connor McDavid looking good and the Oilers enjoying a strong preseason. (Photo credit: nunymare / Foter / CC BY-SA)

Every couple of weeks, we take you around the NHL to take a look at hockey from an NHL betting perspective.

We identify the best and worst teams for your NHL betting picks, check in with all the Canadian teams, identify the must-bet games on the upcoming NHL betting schedule and check out the updated Stanley Cup betting odds.

Let’s get started.

Best Bets in NHL Betting (last year’s stats)

Best Against the Spread: Jets (48-34, $1856), Senators (50-32, $1670), Flames (52-30, $1583)

Over: Blue Jackets (45-34 Over-Under), Stars (46-36 Over-Under), Jets (42-36 Over-Under)

Money Burners in NHL Betting (last year’s stats)

Worst Against The Spread: Coyotes (38-44, -$2979), Ducks (30-52, -$2957), Predators (32-50, -$2458)

Under: Devils (25-45 Over-Under), Hurricanes (26-46 Over-Under), Canadiens (27-39 Over-Under)

Who’s Hot

Oilers: The Connor McDavid era has started very well in Edmonton, with the Oilers winning 6 of their first 7 preseason contests and averaging nearly 4 goals per game.

Red Wings: No Mike Babcock? No problem, at least in the pre-season. Detroit went undefeated (6-0-2) in its 8 preseason games.

Who’s Not

Coyotes: Not only was Arizona winless in 6 preseason games, they were outscored 20-4.

Stars: The Stars were shooting blanks in the preseason, getting outscored 27-13 while losing 6 of 7.

Over/Under NHL Betting Trends

Over: The Red Wings, Sabres and Senators have each seen 40-plus goals scored in their preseason games, working out to an average of more than six goals per contest. All are Atlantic Division teams.

Under: There were just 23 goals scored in the Capitals’ first 5 preseason games, and only 18 in the Avalanche’s first 5.

Canadian Content

Canadiens: There was some concern that captain Max Pacioretty might miss the start of the season after he broke a bone in his leg during training in July. But Pacioretty returned to the Habs’ lineup in their second-last preseason game and was one of the bright spots in a loss to Ottawa.

Senators: Goaltending is one of the bigger question marks in Ottawa this season, so the Senators were relieved to see Craig Anderson make 41 saves in a preseason win over Montreal.

Maple Leafs: The Leafs don’t pretend that they are one of the most talented teams in the NHL, but they insist they won’t be outworked this year like they appeared to be last season. New coach Mike Babcock says the two things that irritate him the most are lack of preparation and lack of compete.

Jets: Winnipeg will begin the season with a disgruntled captain. Andrew Ladd expressed frustration with his contract status this week, hinting he might shut down negotiations once the season starts.

Oilers: One former Oilers superstar is convinced Connor McDavid will be the next one. “You can’t help but feel excited for the organization,” Mark Messier said. “The new arena is coming and there is just a lot of great things happening.”

Flames: Calgary’s depth took a bit of a hit when Joe Colborne (28 points in 64 games last year) suffered a hand injury after being hit by a shot Thursday against Winnipeg. Colborne has been rehabilitating from off-season wrist surgery and was making good progress.

Canucks: Vancouver players say they’re motivated by speculation that they won’t be able to match last year’s surprising success. “When you hear people talking about us getting younger and looking at that as a negative, I think it’s a positive for us,” said Henrik Sedin.

Best Upcoming Games For NHL Betting

Wednesday, Oct. 7: Canadiens at Maple Leafs, 7 pm ET

It’s the first game of the regular season. It’s also a matchup of Canada’s two Original 6 teams, and the debut of new Leafs coach Mike Babcock. So, yeah, we’ll have to bet on this one.

Thursday, Oct. 8: Oilers at Blues, 8 pm ET

Connor McDavid makes his NHL debut, and it’s a tough matchup against a strong Blues team at home. McDavid’s known to live up to the hype, so we’ll be interested in any props about how many points he’ll put up. Sports Interaction and Bodog will probably be the best place for those props.

Monday, Oct. 12: Canucks at Ducks, 10 pm ET

Big early-season test for Vancouver, visiting a Ducks squad that has been dominant at home over the past few seasons. The Canucks should fetch a fat price and it might be a chance to cash in on an Anaheim team that might not yet be firing on all cylinders.