Game:   (071) Arizona Coyotes (8-4-1) @ (072) Edmonton Oilers (10-4-1)

Time:     Monday 11/04 9:05 PM EST at Rogers Place

Spread: Edmonton -1.5 (+200) ML: -115/+105 Total: 5.5  at 5Dimes 

Tools:    Public Consensus | View Matchups | Bet This Game

Tonight in the NHL, Mike Smith and the Edmonton Oilers (10-4-1, 1st in the Pacific Division) will play the Arizona Coyotes (8-4-1, 6th in the Pacific Division). The Coyotes cover 58.3% of the time, having gone 7-5 SU. Edmonton is covering 64.3% of the time, going 9-5 straight up.

The Coyotes largely rely on their top line, and specifically center Nick Schmaltz and journeyman right-winger Phil Kessel for their scoring, with Conor Garland occasionally taking a spot on the top line.

They also get good power play performance form offensive defenseman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and they have a respectable defensive corp overall, which helps with their lack of scoring depth at the forward positions.

In the net Darcy Kuemper is expected to start. He has been solid for this season with a .941 save percentage.  The Oilers have perhaps even more limited depth at forward than Arizona, but a breakout season by Leon Draisaitl has given Edmonton’s second line a big boost.

In the net, Edmonton has Mike Smith, who is outperforming the low expectations some put on the veteran goaltender at the beginning of the season, with a .931 save percentage and 2.12 GAA. When Connor McDavid is healthy he is among theta tier of NHL forwards, and playing on Edmonton’s fast ice lets him shine to his full potential.

Add in sniper, Leon Draisaitl, and Arizona’s defense will need to be on top of their game to pull out the win. Still, while Edmonton’s forwards will have an extra jump in their step playing at home, Edmonton’s weak defense is their Achilles heel.

Can they expect Mike Smith to take up the slack defensively as he has been doing? Odds are good that he will based on his performance thus far this season. But a 2-6 meltdown against Florida on Oct 27, shows that when he’s off, he’s way off.