We have an opportunity to witness history tonight in the National Hockey League, as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night. What makes this game so special? Well, should Edmonton come out victorious, they’ll tie the 1992/93 Pittsburgh Penguins for the longest win streak in NHL history. Let’s dive into the moment, and the game at hand.
Bet on Oilers vs. Golden Knights
EDM -150
VGK +125
The Oilers are currently -150 favourites on the moneyline at bet365.
Oilers vs. Golden Knights odds
| Oilers Moneyline Odds | -150 |
| Golden Knights Moneyline Odds | +125 |
| Puckline odds | Oilers -1.5 (-115), Golden Knights +1.5 (-105) |
| Total | 6.5 goals (over -115, under -105) |
| Time/Date | Feb. 6, 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: Sportsnet, TVA Sports (French) Stream: Sportsnet+ (How to watch the NHL in Canada?) |
All odds courtesy of 
About the Oilers (29-15-1 SU, 23-22 ATS, 18-24-3 o/u)
The Oilers have been building up to this moment for the last several weeks, with their winning streak starting on December 21st against the New Jersey Devils, but really beginning to show its roots in late November, about a week after Kris Knoblauch came in to replace Todd Woodcroft as head coach. The change wasn’t necessarily needed from an underlying performance perspective – a lot of the issue there was just finishing and goaltending results – but it allowed for a reset for a projected contender that had started the season 2-9-1.
If you want to go more in-depth on this run, I wrote a piece during the break about how the Oilers got from where they were to where they are now. We also had a fantastic breakdown from Andy MacNeil looking at their odds of continuing this through the next few days to secure the record.
Living in the moment, though, it’ll be interesting to see if Edmonton can keep their momentum from before the break. One of Knoblauch’s selling points has been his ability to keep the energy calm and tempered, so perhaps the break isn’t disrupting much, but it’s still a change in flow nonetheless. One area Edmonton will hope to stay strong in is off the puck, as they entered the break with two or fewer goals conceded in 14 consecutive games, and one or fewer conceded in their last four.
About the Golden Knights (29-15-6 SU, 26-24 ATS, 23-27 o/u)
With all the hype, it’s easy to forget there’s another team on the other side of this and a team that’s been pretty good in their own right. In fact, it’s the defending Stanley Cup Champions, and they’re 5-1-1 in their last seven games.
Vegas stormed out of the gate this year, going 11-0-1 to start the year, before hitting a bit of a wall in November and December, going 11-11-4 in the following two months, including a 1-6 run right around Christmas and New Year’s. The past few weeks, though? Since a 4-1 win over Nashville on January 15th, the team has looked like the one that started the season. Many of the players who led them to Lord Stanley last year – Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, Ivan Barbashev, Alex Pietrangelo, and others, have stepped up their games and returned to their aggressive yet possessive ways, even as some of their top teammates have spent time recovering from injury.
Vegas’ style of play has certainly shut down the Oilers before – most notably in last year’s playoffs, where they eliminated Edmonton in six games.
Last Matchup
This is the second time these two teams have faced each other this season. The first time was early in Knoblauch’s tenure, and near the start of their prequel win streak, where Edmonton won eight in a row. In this game on November 28th, the Oilers opened the scoring with Sam Gagner’s third goal of the year, and while they almost lost this game through a blown two-goal lead in the final seven minutes of regulation, they were able to stop the bleeding and pull away in the shootout.
Projected Lineups
| Today’s Edmonton Oilers Lines | Today’s Vegas Golden Knights Lines |
|---|---|
| Forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman Evander Kane – Leon Draisaitl – Warren Foegele Dylan Holloway – Ryan McLeod – Corey Perry Mattias Janmark – Derek Ryan – Connor Brown Defence Darnell Nurse – Cody Ceci Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard Brett Kulak – Vincent Desharnais Starting In Goal Stuart Skinner 23-9-1, 2.44 GAA, 0.910 SV% | Forwards Paul Cotter – Chandler Stephenson – Mark Stone Ivan Barbashev – William Karlsson – Jonathan Marchessault Brett Howden – Nicholas Roy – Michael Amadio Jonas Rondbjerg – Byron Froese – Keegan Kolesar Defence Alec Martinez – Alex Pietrangelo Brayden McNabb – Kaedan Korczak Nicolas Hague – Zach Whitecloud Starting In Goal Logan Thompson 16-10-4, 2.77 GAA, 0.906 SV% |
The Oilers, assuming that Evander Kane returns from an illness that had him missing practice yesterday, are coming in as their fullest selves – obviously what you want for a game like this, not just for the sake of the streak but against a top contender.
Vegas, well, they have a few interesting gaps in the lineup, and we’ll explain why below.
Connor McDavid to score a power-play point
+110
Key Injuries
For the Oilers, Evander Kane is day-to-day with an illness. He missed yesterday’s practice, but seeing him back in the lineup tonight wouldn’t be a huge shock.
The Golden Knights are much more battered. Shea Theodore is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Jack Eichel is out for at least another few weeks following a knee procedure. William Carrier is on IR with an upper-body injury suffered a few weeks ago, as is Ben Hutton. William Karlsson might return from a lower-body injury tonight, having practiced yesterday.
Betting Trends
- These two teams have split their last 10 games against each other, winning five apiece. Vegas has the edge on the puckline, going 6-4. The total goals over has hit six times, fallen under three times, and pushed once over those 10 games.
- The Oilers are 10-0 straight-up in their last 10 (duh), but 7-3 on the puckline, and an insane 0-10 when it comes to clearing the total goals over. This streak has, against all expectations, been bread through close defensive results.
- Vegas are 6-4 in their last 10, and 7-3 on the puckline. They’ve been better off at home of late (4-1 in their last 5, 7-3 in their last 10), which they’ll be thrilled to carry into tonight if possible.
Player Prop Trends
- While the Oilers have won these games tightly, their heavyweights are still producing. Connor McDavid has six goals and eight assists in his last 10 games, but leads the team in neither metric!
- Instead, Zach Hyman leads Edmonton both in goals in their last 10 (8), and throughout the season (30). Leon Draisaitl’s 10 assists lead the team across their last 10, as do his 15 points. Where McDavid does lead is in shots on goal, taking 48 in Edmonton’s last 10.
- On the Vegas end, few would be shocked to hear that Mark Stone (3G 7A in their last 10) and Jonathan Marchessault (8G 4A) are leading the way. Some might be intrigued by Ivan Barbashev (4G 7A) joining them. What’s surprising though is Nicholas Roy, who has 11 points in Vegas’ last 10 games and projects to well exceed his career high of 39 points in a season.
Wagers To Consider
- I think Connor McDavid rises to the occasion here. He seemed to have a fun time at All-Star Weekend, and he was building great momentum going into the break. He’ll come in at +110 for an anytime goal, -125 for over 3.5 shots on goal, and -120 for over 1.5 points. A sneaky route to get a little more out of him would be to take him for a power-play point, at +110.
- If you really want to lean into No. 97, a boosted same-game parlay has him at +450 (up from +400), to get 3+ shots, 3+ points, and a goal. That’s a lot to ask for, but not out of his wheelhouse.
- On Vegas’ end, I can see Mark Stone stepping up to cut this run off. He’s +125 to clear 2.5 shots, which he’s done five times in his last 10 games, and accomplished in his last game against Edmonton.
- I’m intrigued by the total here. Yes, the Oilers have been magicians at locking things down, but I do wonder if that gets disrupted tonight given the time off. It’s crazy to think that over six goals is even a question for Edmonton right now, but I’d at least consider it at -115.
