Avalanche vs. Oilers NHL Best Bets for April 22 (Archive)
The league-leading Avalanche skate into Edmonton on Friday night trying to break free from a two-game funk while the Oilers are gunning for their fourth straight victory. Let’s analyze this clash of Western Conference rivals and keep cashing our NHL picks!
Colorado Avalanche vs. Edmonton Oilers
Friday, April 22, 2022 – 9:00 PM EDT at Rogers Place
Avalanche
After reeling off nine consecutive wins, the Avalanche have lost their last pair of games by identical 3-2 scores to the Capitals and, most recently, to the cellar-dwelling Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night. The NHL odds revealed the Avs as -250 road chalk over the Pacific Division doormats but off-nights happen and such was the case for Colorado in that one.
The Kraken took command early by scoring the first three goals all in the opening period before Cale Makar deposited his 27th goal of the season followed by Artturi Lehkonen’s score late in the final frame. Seattle also outshot the Avalanche, 29-27, and won the faceoff battle, 25-21.
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Pavel Francouz took the loss after stopping 26 of 29 shots while former Colorado goalie, Philipp Grubauer, copped the No. 1 star of the game for Seattle. “We weren’t working hard enough,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We weren’t ready to play at the start of the game. The Kraken have been playing some good hockey lately and I thought they played hard from start to finish.”
Oilers Hope to Lock Up No. 2 Spot
Edmonton has caught fire at the right time as they enter Friday’s meeting, holding a four-point lead over the third-place LA Kings in the Pacific Division with a game in hand. But whether they can continue their winning ways against a talented opponent like Colorado remains to be seen.
Edmonton has now won their last three games and 9 of their last 11 contests. Their latest triumph came courtesy of a 5-2 victory over the Stars in which Evander Kane (17), Derek Ryan (9), Zach Hyman (25), Jesse Puljujarvi (14), and Connor McDavid (43) all lit the lamp for the Oilers.
Edmonton’s offense was relentless, peppering Dallas goalie, Scott Wedgewood, with 49 shots while Oiler’s netminder, veteran Mike Smith, was solid between the pipes turning aside 34 of 36 shots. It appears Smith may have wrested the starting job away from Mikko Koskinen as he has won his last seven games while Koskinen has tasted defeat in his last two appearances and has not seen the ice in four straight games.
“I think guys are confident right now,” McDavid said after ending with an empty-net goal and a pair of assists. “Up and down the lineup, guys feel good about their own game and feel good about our team game. There are a lot of good things happening right now and we have to keep at it.”
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Let’s face it, there isn’t much separating these two clubs. Colorado has won both meetings this season by the thinnest of margins. On March 21st, the Avs claimed a 3-2 overtime win at home and edged the Oilers again nearly three weeks later when they skated to a 2-1 shootout victory in Edmonton.
Both teams are equipped with their respective snipers, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon for the Avalanche, while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lead the way for the Oilers. Nevertheless, a case can be made that Colorado has a deeper offensive bench and superior goaltending.
Both are true as the Avalanche have seven 20-goal scorers compared to only three for the Oilers. Moreover, Colorado’s goaltender, Darcy Kuemper, is one of the best in the business boasting a 36-10-3 record, a 2.43 goals-against average, and a .924 save percentage.
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However, the Oilers have got a serious case of mojo entering this showdown and have a second-place carrot dangling in front of them while the Avalanche locked up the top spot in the West a long time ago. This is a good spot to take one of the best home teams in the NHL at an excellent price.
I suspect we will see another low-scoring game as both teams tread cautiously when playing against each other despite the offensive arsenals at their disposal.
Take the Oilers and the under in your NHL picks on Friday night!
NHL Pick: Oilers (+106) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
NHL Pick: Under 6 ½ (+102) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.