OILERS (+155) at PENGUINS (-175), 7 p.m.
Pick: Penguins To Win (-175)
Hockey fans always get excited when the two best players in the league meet up for a prime-time match-up. Here it’s Connor McDavid and Edmonton heading to Pittsburgh to take on Sydney Crosby and the Penguins.
The Oilers (24-26-5) have struggled this season. They’ve gone through two head coaches, fired the general manager and nothing seems to help. It’s clearly the lack of talent surrounding the generational McDavid (who has 81 points already this season) throughout the roster. The Oilers are 3-5-2 in their last 10 and just can’t seem to get any sort of rhythm going.
The Penguins (29-20-7) haven’t been playing up to their usual caliber as of late, but still can get it done when the going gets tough. Evgeni Malkin made his return to the lineup this week but received a one-game suspension for a high-sticking incident, so the Pens will again be without their 2C, evening the playing field a bit. The Penguins still have enough weapons in their arsenal to get the job done and come out on top over head coach Ken Hitchcock’s Oilers.
Oh yeah, did we forget to mention that the Oiler’s have only won 5 of the last 22 meetings between these clubs?