Will the Oilers stay on course in the play-off race?

The Oilers are under pressure, as they currently swing between 8th and 9th place in the Western Conference almost every day, which just wouldn’t be enough to make the playoffs. And at least the playoffs are a must for Edmonton this year.

The situation is different for the Blackhawks, who are still in a transition year and, with a 17-point gap to Edmonton, also no longer have any realistic playoff chances. For them, it’s mostly about bringing in their young core.

Of course, this also explains the Oilers’ status as favourites in foreign arenas. However, they should not underestimate the Hawks, who recently handed them a painful 1:4 defeat in Edmonton. Draisaitl and his colleagues will certainly want to take revenge for that.

We also believe that they will succeed, as the Oilers only showed on Tuesday in Philadelphia that they are in good shape. For Chicago vs. Edmonton, our prediction is a win for the Canadians in a fairly high-scoring duel between two rather weak defensive teams.

Chicago Blackhawks – Statistics & current form

The Chicago Blackhawks are still in transition. Even though they surprisingly made the pre-playoffs in 2020 and even managed to knock out the Oilers there, they won’t be able to repeat that playoff qualification this season.

With 19 wins and 35 losses, they are the third weakest team in the Western Conference and their goal differential of -51 is the third worst in the West. Their only positive statistic is in games that went to the penalty shootout. There they stand at 3:2 victories.

Oilers have been pretty good to the Blackhawks lately

One small glimmer of hope for Thursday, though, is their opponent. Not only did they win three of the last five regular-season meetings against Edmonton, they also beat them 3:1 in this pre-playoff series in the spring of 2020.

Thus, they should have arrived in the minds of the Oilers players by now, especially Patrick Kane, Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik or Alex DeBrincat, who were already successful at that time. DeBrincat in particular has enjoyed scoring against the Canadians recently.

In the two games this season, he has already scored a total of three goals. Betting on a goal from the left wing is therefore a great chance for good odds and excellent value on Thursday.

High Scoring Game expected

Generally, we do expect a few goals in this matchup. Together, both teams concede 6.56 goals per game. So it wouldn’t surprise us if we could crack the 6-goal mark on Thursday as well.

It is precisely this weak defence (Blackhawks concede an average of 3.39 goals) that makes us favour a bet on the Oilers in Chicago against Edmonton. The fact that the Canadians still have a score to settle in Chicago should motivate them doubly.

Key Players:
G: Marc-Andre Fleury
D: Isaak Phillips
D: Seth Jones
LW: Alex DeBrincat
C: Ryan Strome
RW: Patrick Kane

Edmonton Oilers – Statistics & current form

It looks like it will be a toss-up final in the Western Conference for playoff qualification. Fourth place (Minnesota Wild) and tenth place (Anaheim Ducks) are separated by just four measly points. Two of these seven teams will have to go down the tubes.

From a roster standpoint, the Oilers should be one of the better teams, but what does that mean this season? Hardly any team has had to deal with greater fluctuations in form than the team around the two superstars McDavid and Draisatil.

Two top scorers are not enough

We mentioned it in a previous article that the Oilers are far too dependent on their forward duo of McDavid/Draisaitl. Since both are rarely playing in the same line, we have to add: They are too dependent on the first two forward lines.

So it was a relief that another player has recently come into focus: Derek Ryan. The third line forward scored four goals in the last three games and was almost single-handedly responsible for the win against the Florida Panthers.

Koskinen is also improving

Goalie Mikko Koskinen is also in top form at the moment. With 44 and 39 saves over the last two games, he won both of those starts and was also promptly named First Star of the Games.

Should Koskinen start again against the Blackhawks, we see the Canadians clearly ahead. However, if they choose Mike Smith again, it will be a tighter game. However, since we expect Koskinen to start, our No.1 betting recommendation for Blackhawks vs. Oilers are the odds on Edmonton.

Key Players:
G: Mikko Koskinen
D: Darnell Nurse
D: Evan Bouchard
LW: Warren Foegele
C: Connor McDavid
RW: Zach Hyman

Chicago Blackhawks – Edmonton Oilers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

There have been two duels so far this season that have been split fraternally. Since both were in other divisions in the preseason, this matchup didn’t even exist one year. In 2020, both duels were also split.

But then the playoff series from 2020 also comes into play, which Chicago somewhat surprisingly won 3:1. There, the Hawks also managed to win both home games with 4:3 and 3:2.

Although this record speaks a little more for Chicago, they are currently rather weak in form. We have more confidence in the Oilers, who have won seven of their last ten games. For Blackhawks vs. Oilers, a tip on the away team is our recommendation.

Chicago Blackhawks – Edmonton Oilers Tip

The Oilers are at the Blackhawks’ best, but that won’t help them if their defence plays like it has lately. They conceded 14 goals in their last three games, so they should concede at least four against the Oilers’ top attack.

Thus, for Blackhawks vs. Oilers a prediction on both Edmonton and on over-points is recommended. However, since Oilers goalie Koskinen is in great form right now, we clearly prefer the win bet at this point.

As an alternative bet, we would like to present a bet on a goal by Alex DeBrincat. He has already scored three goals against Edmonton this season and is already on 29 goals in total. Accordingly, you should keep an eye on these betting odds for Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers.