Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames Betting Preview

The National Hockey League placed all of the Canadian teams in the North Division this season, and that has created plenty of additional drama. The Calgary Flames will host the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night in what should be a terrific matchup.

Edmonton has now won four of their last five games, and they are trending in the right direction after a very slow start. The Oilers come into this game with a record of 10-8 and sit in third place in the North with 20 points.

Calgary has been extremely inconsistent this season, but they have done just enough to stay in the playoff race. The Flames enter play with 17 total points on the season and are within striking distance of being in a playoff position. 

The Calgary Flames are -123 in this matchup with the Edmonton Oilers.

Edmonton Led By Dynamic Duo

The Edmonton Oilers have two of the best forwards in hockey on their roster, and those two players have led the way this season. Leon Draisaitl leads the team with 10 goals scored, while Connor McDavid has nine goals and a team-high 23 assists and 32 points.

Other teams continue to look for ways to slow down the two Oilers stars, but Edmonton comes into Friday night scoring 3.50 goals per game. There are plenty of other terrific players on the roster, but it all starts and ends with those two.

Edmonton does need to focus more on the defensive end of the ice as they are allowing more than 3.3 goals per game. Mikko Koskinen is the primary goaltender for Edmonton, but he has gone just 6-8 this season and is stopping less than 90 percent of shots faced. 

Calgary Looking For Scoring

The Calgary Flames are scoring just 2.75 goals per game this season, and lack of offense has been a major issue in their losses. Calgary managed just one goal in their most recent game, and they will have to score goals to keep up with Edmonton.

Johnny Gaudreau leads the Flames with nine goals and 16 points, and he will have to play great in this game. Elias Lindholm has been productive as well, leading the team with 11 assists, but Calgary needs more production from all four lines.

Goaltender Jacob Markstrom has been sharp in net for the Flames this season, allowing just 2.6 goals against per game. The Flames want to slow the pace down in this game and try to shut down the offensive stars for Edmonton. 

Flames Beat Canadian Rival

The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are close to each other in the standings, and there has not been a ton of separation between the two teams. Edmonton is the much better offensive team, but Calgary has done a nice job of slowing things down.

The team that is able to establish the tempo on Friday night should win the game, and Calgary will be able to do just that at home. Look for the Flames to throw bodies at the two Edmonton Stars all night, and that will keep the Oilers off of the scoreboard.

Don’t expect a ton of separation in this game, but it will be the Calgary Flames that get the game-winning goal. Bet on the Calgary Flames -123 over the Edmonton Oilers in this North Division showdown.

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