NHL Picks: Who Will Win the Battle of Alberta on Saturday?

If you are preparing yourself for interesting things to happen in what promises to be a very unusual NHL post-season, by all means keep your eyes on the Edmonton Oilers, who have two of the elite offensive talents in the league, who are absolute dynamite together.

On Saturday night they’ll be meeting up with the Calgary Flames, who have struggled enough to put general manager Brad Treliving’s job in possible jeopardy. They already fired coach Geoff Ward.

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The Oilers and Flames will meet on Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, and as we look over the numbers, we think we’re going to cash nicely at HRWager with one of these two squads.

Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames Picks

Oilers vs. Flames Betting Report

When: 10:08 PM ET

NHL Betting Odds

Money Line: Oilers -115 / Flames -105

Total: Over 6 Goals -110 / Under 6 Goals -110

Puck Line: Oilers -1.5 (+215) / Flames +1.5 (-255)

The Oilers got off to a flat start, losing six of their first nine games. But they’ve gotten themselves straight, and come into this game at 25-14-2 (52 points), which puts them pretty squarely into playoff position- second place in the North Division, a point ahead of Winnipeg. Calgary (16-21-3, 35 points) would have to put on a furious rush to catch the Montreal Canadiens for the fourth spot, as they are eight points behind while the Habs have three games in hand on them.

Edmonton has the league’s top two scorers. Connor McDavid has 23 goals and 46 assists (69 points), while Leon Draisaitl has 61 points on 22 goals and 39 assists. Of course, both of them have won the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Trophy.

The Oilers have won five of seven games against the Flames, with a +10 goal differential.

Mike Smith is playing in goal for Edmonton, and there has been a discernible difference between the results they have gone in front of him and those that have been produced for Mikko Koskinen, who is under the .500 mark and sitting with a 3.09 goals-against and minus-3.2 GSAA (Goals Saved Above Average).

Smith has lost only three games in regulation time in his 20 starts; his 2.34 GAA and .922 save percentage have been more than solid. Over his last eleven starts, the Kingston, Ontario native has lost one regulation decision and helped his team get points in every other game, including a couple of overtime defeats. His last outing was superb, as he stopped 39 of 40 shots against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

What stands out on special teams for the Oilers is their power play success rate, as they have converted 27.1% of the time. That’s second best in the NHL, and that’s not a big surprise with McDavid and Draisaitl out there, as they’ve combined for 18 power play goals.

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Jacob Markstrom is between the pipes for the Flames, and he has gone six consecutive starts without a win. Not that he’s been horrible, but only four times in his last 16 outings has he allowed fewer than three goals.

And let’s face it – Calgary doesn’t have a lot of punch. They have averaged barely above 2.5 goals per game and only 1.8 over their last nine games. Head coach Darryl Sittler has said that he is splitting up long-time running mates Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, putting them on separate lines in the hopes of a spark. Wishful thinking?

Truth be told, we’re not sure how far the Oilers are going to g in the playoffs. But they seem to be able to beat teams of this level – they just completed a nine-game season sweep of the Ottawa Senators, for example.

This team has suffered a little from lack of production below its top line. Still, head coach Dave Tippett is resisting the idea of splitting McDavid and Draisaitl up. The numbers bear it out – in the 224 minutes the two have played together, Edmonton has outscored its opposition 24-8.

Even with limited firepower out of the second, third and fourth lines, that’s the kind of thing that should be enough against this opponent that is starved to make things happen offensively, so we’d say we certainly find value with this favorite. And we’d add that maybe even the puck line might be worth a small risk for the +215 payoff.

The Play: EDMONTON -115