Edmonton Oilers (14-11) vs Calgary Flames (11-11-2)
Game Info: Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 10:00 pm (Rogers Place)
Betting Odds: Edmonton Oilers -139 / Calgary Flames +126 --- Over/Under: 6.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers meet in another edition of the Battle of Alberta on Saturday night in NHL action.
The Calgary Flames will look to build on a 7-3 win over Ottawa in their last matchup. Johnny Gaudreau leads the Flames in scoring with 21 points coming on 9 goals and 12 assists while Elias Lindholm is right behind with 20 points coming on 6 goals and 14 apples. Matthew Tkachuk has 19 points with 12 assists and Sean Monahan also has 12 assists as part of his 17 point tally up to this point in the year. Rasmus Andersson has 14 points with 3 goals and 11 assists while Mark Giordano, Mikael Backlund and Anthony Mangiapane each have 12 points on the year. Jacob Markstrom has made 15 appearances for the Flames, going 8-7 with a 2.87 GAA and a pair of shutouts while David Rittich has a 2.93 GAA with a shutout and 3 wins in 11 appearances this season.
The Edmonton Oilers will look to bounce back after a 6-1 loss to Toronto in their last matchup. Connor McDavid leads the Oilers in scoring with 40 points including 14 goals and 26 assists while Leon Draisaitl is close behind with 35 points with 10 goals and 25 assists. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 20 points split between 10 goals and 10 apples while Tyson Barrie has 18 points with 15 assists and Darnell Nurse has picked up 16 points with 6 goals and 10 assists, with all the players I just mentioned all having at least 60 shots on goal this season, led by McDavid’s 96. Mikko Koskinen has seen the majority of Edmonton’s workload in goal, going 7-9 with a 3.38 GAA in 16 appearances while Mike Smith is 6-2 with a pair of shutouts and a 2.33 GAA in 10 appearances.
Calgary is 2-9 in their last 11 games as an underdog and 0-4 in their last 4 games following a win while the under is 4-1-1 in their last 6 games as a road underdog. Edmonton is 11-5 in their last 16 games overall and 9-3 in their last 12 games as a favorite while the under is 5-2 in their last 7 games playing on 2 days rest. The over is 5-1-1 in the last 7 meetings between these two teams and 3-0-1 in the last 4 meetings between the two in Edmonton.
Normally when you think of rivalry games, you imagine tough, physical, hard-hitting hockey where neither side wants to give an inch. Well this is a rivalry, but the only damage these two like to do is on the scoreboard as 5 of the last 6 meetings have gone over the number, including two that saw 10+ goals. I’m not stepping in front of that trend. I’ll back the over here as I’m expecting yet another goalfest in this one.
Chris’s Pick Over 6.5
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg