The Edmonton Oilers (8-7-0) head to face the Florida Panthers (8-5-1) at FLA Live Arena on Saturday. Edmonton is coming off a high-scoring 7-2 loss against the Hurricanes on Thursday. The Oilers committed four penalties in the game, conceding one power play goal.
Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman each scored once for the Oilers. McDavid added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Jack Campbell only had 25 saves on 32 shots against (.781%) in the loss.
Florida beat the Hurricanes 3-0 on Wednesday. Sam Bennett, Nick Cousins, and Aleksander Barkov scored one apiece for the Panthers. Brandon Montour had three assists to lead the team in scoring. Spencer Knight recorded his first shutout of the season with 40 saves.
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams split their two meetings last season, the last of which was a 4-3 victory for the Oilers in February. Derek Ryan led Edmonton with three goals. Barkov (2G 0A) and Anthony Duclair (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Florida. Mikko Koskinen got the win, saving 44 of 47 shots (.936%).
FACING OFF
Edmonton is averaging 3.67 goals per game for the season, fourth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Panthers team that is allowing 3.00 goals a game (13th). Meanwhile, Florida has found the net 3.21 times a game on average, 15th in the league, and the Oilers are allowing opponents to score 3.73 goals per game (28th).
Florida averages more shots per game (39.4) than any other team in the league, though the team’s 8.3% shooting percentage ranks 30th. With an average of 32.0 attempts, Edmonton ranks 13th.Power play opportunities should be plentiful for the Oilers, as the Panthers have been penalized 4.93 times a game, fifth-most in the NHL, for an average of 10.71 minutes (11th-highest).
The visitors are averaging 4.53 penalties (13th) and 9.67 penalty minutes a game (15th).The Oilers’ 33.33% power play percentage is the second-best in the league, while the Panthers rank 30th with a conversion rate of only 13.79%.
While strong on the power play, Edmonton has been less impressive at penalty killing, as the away team owns the league’s fourth-lowest PK% at 70.77%. Florida’s 75.00% ranks 23rd in the NHL.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 31 points this season, most in the NHL, McDavid is the top skater for the Oilers. He leads the league with 15 goals and ranks third with 16 assists. In the net, Stuart Skinner (2-3-0) is Edmonton’s top goaltender by goals against average.
He has a 2.62 GAA and a .928% save percentage. Campbell (6-3-0) leads the Oilers in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 3.93 and a save percentage of .884%. Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers in scoring with 17 points (9th in the league).
He has five goals and 12 assists (9th) in 12 games. Knight (5-1-0) has the best goals against average for Florida at 2.18. He has a save percentage of .925%. Sergei Bobrovsky (3-4-1) has played the most games in net for the Panthers this season. He has a 3.28 GAA and a .897% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
Edmonton is 4-2-0 away from home this season. Florida has yet to be defeated at home this season in five games.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Edmonton Oilers (+145)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
