Only two points separate the St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference ahead of their Friday night showdown in Alberta. They’ve split a pair of games in St. Louis this season but the Oilers come into this meeting in better form, having won eight of their last 12 games, while the visitors are 5-7 SU in their last 12.
Can Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to carry this team up the Western Conference standings? Are the Blues feeling the heat with a sub-500 stretch in March that has them four points out of last place? Find out in our free NHL picks and predictions for Blues vs. Oilers on Friday, April 1.
Blues vs Oilers odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The market is warming up to the Oilers, who opened at -130 but have since moved to -150 with a total of 6.5 that is leaning to the Over and could hit 7. The last meeting was in December with the Blues winning 4-2 as slight -115 home favorites with a total of 6.5.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Blues vs Oilers predictions
Predictions made on 4/01/2022 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Blues vs Oilers game info
• Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB
• Date: Friday, April 1, 2022
• Puck drop: 9:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Sportsnet, Bally Sports
Blues vs Oilers betting preview
Key injuries
Blues : Jordan Kyrou F (Questionable), Tyler Bozak F (Out), Torey Krug D (Out).
Oilers: Kris Russell D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Blues vs Oilers head-to-head record since 2017-18
Blues : 6-4 SU, 43 goals for.
Oilers: 4-6 SU, 26 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 9-0 in the Oilers’ last nine games as a home favorite. Find more NHL betting trends for Blues vs. Oilers.
Blues vs Oilers picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The Edmonton Oilers are just two points ahead of the eighth-place Dallas Stars in the West but this is a team playing with a ton of confidence right now, with a 9-4-2 record last month, which was the seventh-best point percentage in hockey. Edmonton feels like a team that is looking to move up the standings as opposed to fighting for its playoff life. A win tonight would go a long way in gaining some ground on the ninth-place Golden Knights and it’s almost as if the Blues are the team that should be more worried about the teams below them heading into tonight.
The Blues come into tonight’s meeting 3-5 straight up over their last eight games and will be playing their sixth game in 11 nights. Tonight will be the second game of a three-game road trip for St. Louis, who hung on for a 4-3 win in Vancouver Wednesday, and heads to Calgary to play the Flames tomorrow.
St. Louis’ 46.4% point percentage last month ranked 24th in the league. Goals haven’t been a problem at 3.29 per game, but keeping them out has been the real issue. The Blues allowed 3.50 goals per game over their last 14 games, and the PK has struggled as well with a 73.7% kill efficiency.
No goalie has been confirmed for the Blues, but neither Jordan Binnington nor Ville Husso has a GAA below 3.00 over the last 30 days and each goaltender is also sporting a SV% below .900 over that stretch. Coming in with cold goaltending is not a great strategy for success against the offensively-gifted Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers averaged 4.00 goals per game in March, which was bettered only by the Predators (4.14). The Edmonton power play was decent at 25% but Alberta’s second-best team is also becoming solid at 5-on-5.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draissaitl have hit another gear offensively. The two of them have combined for 48 points over the last 14 games, including 24 goals, with 19 of those coming at even strength. Draissaitl is sitting at 49 goals and will go for 50 tonight, and is one goal off the lead for the Rocket Award. McDavid is sitting at 100 points, is leading the league in that category, chased by Draissaitl, who has 97.
The Oilers haven’t announced their starter in net but both Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen have been adequate of late, while the offense has done the heavy lifting. The Edmonton offense has a great matchup tonight and could win this game even if Smith or Koskinen allow three goals. We’re on the side of the market again today.
Prediction: Oilers ML (-150 at bet365)
Over/Under analysis
This total opened at 6.5 -115 to the Over and is starting to look like it could possibly hit 7. The last meeting closed at 6.5 and although the final was 4-2 in favor of the Blues, zero goals were scored over the game’s last 19 minutes. The first meeting saw a total of nine goals scored with 71 shots on net and two power-play goals. With how both teams have been stopping the puck of late, we understand the thirst for the Over tonight.
The Oilers come into tonight’s rubber match seeing a total of 7.20 goals per game over the last 30 days, while the Blues aren’t too far off that high total at 6.80 total goals per game. All four rostered goalies have a GAA north of 3.00 over the last 30 days and neither Binnington nor Husso have a save percentage above .899 since March 1. Tonight’s goaltending will not be in top form regardless of who is starting.
The Oilers have ripped off five straight Overs and are 7-1 O/U in their last eight games. They’re scoring 4.00 goals per game over that stretch while also allowing 3.20 per game. The goaltending has forced McDavid and Draissaitl to turn things up a notch and even Ryan Nugent-Hopkins pivoting the third line is giving this team some scoring options on the bottom-six. Edmonton also comes into this game as healthy as it's been all season.
The Oilers will have to slow down David Perron, who has 12 goals over his last 13 games and 19 total points. Jordan Kyrou missed the last game but skated on Thursday and has a good chance to suit up tonight. Getting him in the lineup gives coach Craig Berube a chance to load up his top two lines or go with a balanced three-line attack. Either way, it’s good for the Over.
Both teams are scoring close to 25% over the last six weeks on the power play, which is better than the league average. These power plays could find the back of the net tonight, with both teams sitting in the Bottom 15 in PK% over the last six weeks as well.
In a game that features two solid top-six forward groups, some cold goaltenders and special teams that favor the Over, we’re jumping on the market steam and hitting the Over 6.5 ourselves, but would likely lay off the Over if this number were to hit 7.
Prediction: Over 6.5 (-130 at bet365)
Best bet
Draissaitl is sitting at 49 goals, and if we learned anything from the Leafs’ game Thursday where Auston Matthews scored his 50th, it's that his teammates will likely feed him the puck. Matthews finished that game with six shots on net and 13 shot attempts.
Draissaitl’s shot total is sitting at 3.5 and paying +130 to the Over. He has scored in five straight games and has eight total goals over that stretch. He’s topped 3.5 shots in four straight games and is 8-3 to the Over in his last 11. The boys will be looking to get Draissaitl his 50th and will hopefully force-feed him the puck.
Pick: Draissaitl Over Over 3.5 shots (+130)
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