Oilers Travel to Miami to Face the Panthers Saturday

The Edmonton Oilers are continuing their road trip as they take on the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon inside of the FLA Live Arena in a non-conference game.

The Oilers are third in the Pacific Division (18-19-3, 59 points), while the Panthers are leading the Atlantic Division (35-10-4, 75 points) so far this year. These teams have both been playing extremely well, and it will be a test for both teams coming off an off day to face one of the better teams in the opposing conference.

This will be the second of two games against each other as the Panthers picked up a 6-0 road win. Today we will dive into some predictions and determine the best plays for this game so we can maximize our profits in this game.  

Hart of the Team

The Oilers are playing extremely well this season as they are scoring 3.3 goals per game. They are doing extremely well behind their two centers, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, this season as they are competing for the Hart Trophy.

McDavid has the NHL lead in points (71), tied for seventh in goals (26), and second in assists (45). On the other side, Draisaitl is tied for second in the sport (70) and leading the NHL in goals (35). The offense should not struggle too much in this game. 

Goaltender Mikko Koskinen is expected to be in the net, and he needs to improve as he is currently 17-8-2 this season with 3.13 goals allowed per game and an 89.9 save percentage.

They need to defend better as the Oilers are allowing 3.22 goals per game and giving up 77.1 percent of all power plays against them. The defense needs to step up if they want to be considered a top-tier franchise.     

Florida Panthers on the Prowl

The offense of the Panthers has been incredibly well as they are averaging 4.12 goals per game this season right now.

Left winger Jonathan Huberdeau has been dominant on the ice as he has recorded 70 points (17 goals, 53 assists) and has a +25 goal difference when he is on the ice. Center Aleksander Barkov has been leading the team with 23 goals, and they need to score well if they want to win games here. 

Sergei Bobrovsky has been the starter goalie for the Florida Panthers as he is 26-4-3 this year while allowing 2.51 goals and a .919 save percentage this season, as well as one shutout so far.

As a whole, the Panthers are giving up 2.84 goals per game this season, and 79.2 percent of all power plays against them. 

Betting Predictions for Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers 

There are a lot of differences between these teams as the best plays seem to be Florida covering the puck line as well as the over hitting here.

The Panthers are 29-21 Against the Spread this year, while the Oilers are 22-28 Against the Spread this season. The offenses have been playing differently as of late as Edmonton is averaging 3.5 goals in their last two games while Florida is scoring 4.8 goals in their previous five games.

These teams have been scoring incredibly well, and both teams are not having low-scoring games as the over has hit in 30 of 49 games for the Panthers, and the over is .500 for the Oilers so far.

The defense of Edmonton is not great so go with the over to hit and Florida to cover the puck line at home.

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.