NHL Hockey Betting: Arizona Coyotes at Edmonton Oilers

We’ll return to a familiar refrain in these writeups–these are trying times for Canadian hockey fans. The ‘Great White North’s’ best hope for a playoff team is now the erratic Ottawa Senators or the disappointing Montreal Canadiens. The Senators are one of the worst defensive teams in hockey and are now 8 points out of a wild card spot with three teams ahead of them. Also tied with Ottawa are the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs have been without Carey Price for most of the season and have been a dumpster fire. To their credit, they’ve continued to exert an effort and have been playing reasonably well (5-3-2) only to watch team captain and heart and soul P.K. Subban go down with an ugly neck injury. Fortunately, Subban’s injury was not serious–he’s out of the hospital and now ‘day to day’. Great news about one of the classiest gentlemen in any sport.

Tonight we’ll focus on arguably the brightest spot in Canadian hockey at the moment–Connor McDavid. McDavid entered the league with all the pressure in the world. He was called a ‘generational player’ and compared to guys named Gretzky, Lemeiux and Crosby. No pressure there. After a slow start to the season he exploded on October 17 against the Calgary Flames. It was like the scene at the end of ‘The Matrix’ when Neo realizes that he is ‘The One’. Even with a 37 game absence due to injury McDavid has somehow managed to not only live up to the hype but surpass it. Insane skills, ungodly speed and a good head on his shoulders. If you don’t like watching him play you don’t like hockey.

Anyway, the Oilers are playing fairly well for a team with an AHL level defense. Arizona beat Calgary last night–a result that says more about the pitiful state of the Flames than anything positive about the Coyotes. The Coyotes are now in 10th place leading the four Canadian teams but are 2-7-1 in their last 10 and have a defense that makes the Oilers’ look like the Nashville Predators. Look for ‘Connor McJesus’ and company to add some more highlights to the season reel as they rip Arizona tonight.

BET EDMONTON OILERS -170 OVER ARIZONA COYOTES