New Jersey Devils Travel to Edmonton to Face the Oilers

The New Jersey Devils will head to Rogers Place on Saturday afternoon to take on the Edmonton Oilers in a non-conference matchup.

This is their second and final game against one another as they played on New Year’s Eve with New Jersey picking up a 6-5 overtime home win.

The Devils are seventh in the Metropolitan Division (22-32-5, 49 points), while the Oilers are third in the Pacific Division (32-23-4, 68 points). 

Both teams have some good offensive talent, so it will be interesting to see which franchise can step up defensively to pick up a win.

Game Preview: New Jersey Devils at Edmonton Oilers March 19

New Jersey is a good offensive team so far, as they are averaging three goals per game on 32.1 shots. Left winger Jesper Bratt has been leading the charge for them as he has posted 55 points (19 goals, 36 assists) and has added five points to his totals in his last four games played.

The defense of the Devils is where most of the issues reside as they are allowing 3.46 goals on 30.8 shot attempts this season. With Mackenzie Blackwood on Injured Reserve still with a heel injury, the Devils have been depending on Jon Gillies to lead in the net, and it hasn’t been great. So far this season, he is just 3-9-1 with 3.70 goals allowed per game and a save percentage sitting at .887. 

The Oilers have been doing well offensively this season as they are scoring 3.22 goals on 33.6 shot attempts. One of the main reasons why has been the play of center Leon Draisaitl, as he is second in goals, 15th in assists, and third in points in the sport. On the year, he has recorded 81 points (39 goals, 42 assists) with five points in his previous five games played.

Defensively is where Edmonton needs to improve a bit as their starting goalie is Mikko Koskinen and not playing too well this season. He has a 21-9-3 record with a .906 save percentage and 2.98 goals allowed per game. As a whole, Edmonton needs to improve defensively as they are giving up 3.17 goals on 31.8 shots per game.

New Jersey Devils at Edmonton Oilers Betting Prediction

Both offenses are similar, as we touched upon earlier, so the difference is going to be inside of the net, and as of late, there is a big difference.

New Jersey is allowing just two goals in their previous four games, while Edmonton is giving up 3.2 goals in their last five games. These teams played a back-and-forth matchup once this season and should be right there once again. The Devils are 28-31 against the spread this season, while the Oilers are 26-33 against the spread.

All in all, go with the New Jersey Devils to cover the puck line in this matchup.

* 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.