Boston Bruins at Edmonton Oilers

By Sam Batz

This week, two of the NHL’s top-scoring offenses square off for the first time this season. These two sides have combined for 447 total goals, with each averaging nearly 4.0 goals per game. One of these teams leads the league in total goals, and the other leads the league in total points. They each have an excellent chance to make the playoffs, and could very well see each other in the Stanley Cup Finals. Of course, I am talking about the Boston Bruins and the Edmonton Oilers, who are slated to play their first game against each other on Monday, Feb. 27th (8:30 PM EST, Sportnet).

Boston Bruins Breakdown (-140)

There is but one word I can use to describe the Boston Bruins season: domination. Boston leads the league with a 45-8-5 record, and are the only team thus far to reach 40+ wins. The Bruins also lead with 95 points through 58 games, and are on track to finish the year with the highest single-season point total in NHL history (Current record: 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens; 132 points). Boston has allowed the fewest goals against (121), and have the best goal differential (+96) in the league. Whatsmore, according to FiveThirtyEight, the Bruins are the favorite to not only make the Stanley Cup Finals, but to win the whole thing.

Boston leads the Atlantic Division by 15 points, the Eastern Conference by 9 points, and currently have the longest winning streak in the league, with 6 straight wins. The Bruins are 7-2-1 in their last 10, averaging 3.60 goals for, and 2.30 goals against over that 10 game stretch. 26-year old Right Wing David Pastrnak leads Boston with 79 player points (4th in NHL) recording 42 goals (2nd in NHL) and 37 assists (T-28th in NHL). The Bruins have the third most total assists (364), with 5 different players who have recorded 30+ assists on the season. The Boston Bruins are certainly the team to beat this year. 

Edmonton Oilers Breakdown (+120)

The Oilers are the top-scoring team in the league. They have lit the lamp an incredible 230 times, 11 more goals than the next highest scorers, the Buffalo Sabres. Edmonton has gone 32-20-8 through 60 games, accumulating 72 points on the back of their outstanding goal scoring abilities. In their last 10 games, the Oilers are 4-2-4, and enter the matchup with Boston on the heels of a devastating 5-6 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Regardless of the less-than-ideal record, the Oilers continue to score goals, averaging an impressive 5.0 goals per game in their last 5. 

It seems like Edmonton can score whenever they want to, but stopping the opposition has been a soft spot for the Oilers. They have a decent goal differential (+33), but have allowed 76 more goals than the Bruins, and in their last 5 matchups, allowed 4.0 opponent goals per game. The Oilers will need to tighten up their defense if they want to have a shot at beating Boston. The Oilers are led by 26-year old phenom, Connor McDavid, who is leading the entire league in player points (113), goals (48), and assists (65). Fellow Center, Leon Draisaitl, trails McDavid with 88 player points (2nd in NHL), but together, McDavid and Draisaitl have been a deadly combination for Edmonton. 

Bruins vs. Oilers Season Stats

Boston Bruins (45-8-5) 95 217 (3rd) 121 (1st) +96 33.2 (8th) 3.74 (3rd) 2.09 (1st) 24-2-3 (82.8%) 21-6-2 (72.4%)

Stat Type Pts Total GF Total GA G Diff Shots/GP GF/GP GA/GP Home (Win-rate) Away (Win-rate)

Edmonton Oilers (32-20-8) 72 230 (1st) 197 (20th) +33 33.7 (6th) 3.83 (1st) 3.28 (20th) 14-11-5 (46.7%) 18-9-3 (60.0%)

Bruins vs. Oilers Betting Trends

Boston Bruins 36-22 19-10 (Away) 15-9 (vs. West) 24-30-4 4-6 40-4-5 (as Favorites) 17-2-2 (Favorites Away)

Betting Trend ATS (Season) ATS (Home/Away) ATS (Conference) O/U (Season) O/U (Last 10) ML (Favorite/Underdog) ML (Home/Away)

Edmonton Oilers 32-28 14-16 (Home) 13-13 (vs. East) 40-17-3 8-2 11-5-1 (as Underdogs) 2-0-0 (Underdogs Home)

Bruins vs. Oilers Odds

Betting odds courtesy of PointsBet:

Team	Spread	Total	Moneyline
Boston Bruins	-1.5 (+180)	Ov 6.5 (-125)	-140
Edmonton Oilers	+1.5 (-221)	Un 6.5 (+105)	+120

Check back later for the latest point spread, total, and moneyline odds on PointsBet. 

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Prediction

Take the Boston Bruins (-140) to win the game. The Bruins are clearly the best team in the league, and even against the goal scoring machine that is the Edmonton Oilers, Boston remains the clear favorite. The Bruins are allowing around 2 goals against per game, an incredible feat, mostly thanks to the masterful goalkeeping abilities of Linus Ullmark. Ullmark leads all goaltenders for the best record (30-4-1), the fewest GA/G (1.86), and the highest save percentage (93.8%). I expect the Oilers skillful Centers (McDavid and Draisaitl) will squeak a few pucks past Ullmark, but in the end, Boston will prevail because of their fantastic team defense, and fast-paced offensive attack.

Prediction: Boston Bruins (-140) Moneyline and the Over. Final Score: 4-3

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