NHL

Edmonton Oilers vs Ottawa Senators Pick: Wednesday, March 10th

Oilers vs Senators Pick – Wednesday, March 10th: This will be the Senators’ 5th game of a six-game road trip and their 3rd game in 4 nights. They have been in Alberta since Wednesday, March 3rd, so travel is not an issue, but they may have trouble finding their legs in the latter stages of this one. They are 1-3 on this trip and are coming off a 3-2 loss against these Oilers on Monday. The Senators have to play a spotless road game against an Oilers team with one extremely dangerous line and little else.

You have to be very cautious when Draisaitl, McDavid, and Yamamoto are out there and then try to win the game when they are on the bench. You need to win the face-off battle against the Oilers, and more importantly, against Conor McDavid. McDavid is not bad at face-offs and Draisaitl is really good.

The only Senator winning draws is their 3rd line center Josh Norris, but he plays on a line with Stutzle and Batherson, so you don’t want them out against McDavid. Josh Norris was a Sharks 1st round draft pick out of the University of Michigan, and I think he can be a good center in this league. The Brady Tkachuk/Chris Teirney/Connor Brown line is the group you want against McDavid, but Tierney has been bad in the face-off circle. I trust that DJ Smith will put together a clean, conservative game plan together when the McDavid line is out there. Get it deep and cycle, and then attack when the other lines are on the ice.

〉More NHL North Division: Canadiens vs Canucks Pick: Wed, Mar. 10th

The Oilers average 3.19 goals a game, but have scored just seven over their last 5. McDavid went a shocking three straight games without points but has bounced back with 5 points in his previous two games. Leon Draisaitl snapped an eight-game goals drought when he scored against Ottawa on Monday.

This team is very simple to defend against. They have 1 line that can hurt you. Notice I said simple and not easy. McDavid and Draisaitl are exceptional players, but Peter Chiarelli and then Ken Holland have done an abysmal job filling out the rest of the roster. I think Darnell Nurse is a quality defender, but I think Tyson Barrie is vastly overrated and is not good enough to log the ice time that he is getting. Joe Sakic had the best round defensive corp in the league, and it was paramount that he get Tyson Barrie out of the Avalanche dressing room.

Kris Russell and Adam Larsson are rated as the 2nd worst 2nd unit in the NHL. There’s a reason why a weak Blackhawks squad dispatched these guys in the playoffs. This is my favorite time to back a squad. Their 2nd last game of a homestand against a team playing their 3rd game in 4 nights, so I will do it begrudgingly here and take the Oilers-1.5(+110) as well as the U6.5(-110)