The National Hockey League regular season kicks off this week, and two of Canada’s teams will face each other on opening night. The Vancouver Canucks will travel to face their close rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, in the nightcap of a first-night slate of four games. The two teams would classify their 2018-2019 seasons in dramatically different terms, as the Canucks had to be somewhat pleased with their 81 points from last season, given they are in the midst of a multi-season rebuilding process. The Oilers, on the other hand, must have been disappointed with their 79 points from a season ago, especially since they have so much firepower in their lineup. Let’s take a closer look at this opening-night matchup between these two Canadian teams from a betting perspective.
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How the teams fared last year
It was a tale of two different seasons for the Canucks and the Oilers. As previously mentioned, the Canucks had to be happy about their 81 points, even if they missed the playoffs again. That’s because Vancouver is in the middle of a rebuilding campaign that is seeking to resurrect the franchise that was so good not long ago.
The Canucks are led by a lot of young players, but their management saw the strides these players made last year and supplemented them with some nice veteran additions this offseason.
The Oilers, meanwhile, can’t be happy with the 79 points they recorded last year. That number was the fourth worst mark in the entire NHL.
Only two seasons ago, Edmonton made a surprise run in the playoffs and looked to be a team to be reckoned with for years to come. They have two superstars on their team, led by all-world center Connor McDavid, and supplemented by Leon Draisaitl.
The Oilers have a ton of other talent up and down the roster as well, but they haven’t been able to put it all together over the last two seasons, missing the playoffs in both.
The Oilers and the Canucks played four times last year, with the teams splitting the season series with two wins apiece. One of the Canucks’ wins was in overtime, though, so the Oilers gained 5 points against the Canucks, while the Canucks gained only 4 points against the Oilers.
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How the teams look for opening night
Vancouver has an injury question mark with right winger Brock Boeser. The young star, who didn’t sign his deal until September 16, suffered a concussion about a week before the end of the preseason. He returned to the ice recently, but there has been no word about whether he’ll definitely play on opening night. The Oilers had some concerns about McDavid and his knee injury entering the preseason, but he seems to be a full go.
The sportsbooks have posted the full odds for this opening-night matchup, with the Oilers favored on the moneyline at -136 and the Canucks at +112 on the moneyline. The Oilers are -1.5 on the puckline with odds of +185, and the Canucks at +1.5 on the puckline at -235. The total number of goals has been set at 5.5, with the over at -118 odds and the under at -105 odds.
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