Welcome back to NHL Predictions, March 22nd edition! Each day, the Last Word On Hockey team will break down every game and give our NHL predictions for each game. This is the first slate of NHL Predictions for March 22nd, featuring the Edmonton Oilers vs Montreal Canadiens. Be sure to check out the other two slate of games today.
NHL Predictions Including Edmonton Oilers vs Montreal Canadiens
Buffalo Sabres vs New York Rangers
Head-to-Head: Sabres 1- 2 Rangers
The Buffalo Sabres situation couldn’t get any worse for the team this season. Not only do they have a handful of crushing injuries, but the Sabres are dead last in the NHL. A dark cloud continues to hover over the Sabres as the team is on a five-game skid without a point and winless during their last thirteen games.
Jack Eichel leads the Sabres with 16 assists and, Sam Reinhart leads with 11 goals and 19 points in 27 games played. Buffalo currently serves the fewest penalty minutes in the NHL with six penalty minutes per game. However, Taylor Hall leads his team in penalties averaging 0.8 penalty minutes per game with a total of 22 penalty minutes this season.
On the other side of the ice, the New York Rangers currently sit the sixth spot in the East Division with a record of 13-13-4. In New York’s last 10 games played, the team is 5-4-1, looking to better their record. Arguably a Selke nominee, Pavel Buchnevich has produced eight assists and five goals over his last 10 games.
Chris Kreider leads the Rangers with 14 goals and 20 points, Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich leads the team with 17 assists. New York is averaging 9.4 penalty minutes per game which happens to be the sixth-most in the league. The Rangers have the league third-best penalty kill at 86.6 percent.
On the injury side of things, Buffalo may be without Dylan Cozens tonight as he is day-to-day with a head injury. Jack Eichel remains out with an upper-body injury and, netminder Linus Ullmark is out with a lower-body injury. New York’s Igor Shesterkin is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Jack Johnson is out due to surgery.
Prediction: New York Wins 5-2
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Carolina Hurricanes vs Columbus Blue Jackets
Head-to-Head: Hurricanes 2 – 3 Blue Jackets
In the Central Division tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes will be eager to steal a victory from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Carolina has dropped their last two games during overtime to Columbus decreasing their overall record to 20-7-3. Carolina has 43 points on the season, 10 more than Columbus. Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes with 28 points and shares a three-way tie for most goals scored on the team with 13.
Forwards Nino Niederreiter and Vincent Trocheck join Aho for most goals scored on the team. Carolina’s defencemen Dougie Hamilton leads Carolina with 21 assists, producing ten assists over his last ten games.
The Blue Jackets are 13-12-7 and have won their last two games improving to a 5-3-2 record over their last ten games. Columbus owns the fifth-worst special teams in the NHL. The team has scored just 12 powerplay goals on 78 opportunities to convert a 15.4 percent. With the penalty kill also struggling for a fifth-worst, the Blue Jackets have allowed 20 goals on 74 powerplay chances.
Oliver Bjorkstrand currently leads his team with 11 goals, 16 assists and a total of 27 points. Over Columbus’s last 10 games, Bjorkstrand has produced 11 points and, Zach Werenski has eight assists during that frame.
The injury details for tonight’s matchup include Columbus possibly without Alexandre Texier and Mikhail Grigorenko due to an illness. The Hurricanes Teuvo Teravainen is out with a concussion, Vincent Trocheck remains day-to-day with an upper-body and, Jake Gardiner is day-to-day with back issues.
Prediction: Carolina Wins 5-4
Edmonton Oilers vs Montreal Canadiens
Head-To-Head: Oilers 1 – 2 Canadiens
Tonight’s featured game comes from the high-scoring North Division, where five points separate the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens. Edmonton leads the league in goals scored with 116, Montreal trails by 16 in the category. The Canadiens lead over the Oilers in the season series; but with three straight games on the schedule, things are likely to change.
So far, Montreal has outscored Edmonton 8-5 in the series, 2-1 on the power play and, their two shorthanded goals versus Edmonton’s one. The Edmonton Oilers have not lost the first period in 10 of the last 11 NHL away games and lead the league in regulation wins with 20.
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid both have six game-winning goals. McDavid leads the league with 60 points, 39 assists and 21 goals in 34 games played. During McDavid’s current nine-game point streak, he has scored seven goals, 13 assists and he has produced 15 even-strength points. For the 14th time this season, the Oilers have held their opponents to two or fewer goals in their last 22 games.
Montreal improved their winning record to 14-8-9 as the team captured their first non-regulation win on Saturday. Tomas Tatar scored to get his team on the board and was also successful in his shootout attempt to grab the 5-4 victory. Tyler Toffoli leads Montreal with 18 goals and 27 points, while Jonathan Drouin leads the team with 19 assists.
Montreal’s special teams rank fourth best in the North. Their penalty kill has allowed 25 goals on 106 opportunities converting to 76.4 percent. The team’s powerplay has connected 20 times out of the 84 powerplay chances they’ve earned to a total of 23.8 percent.
Prediction: Edmonton Wins 3-2 OT
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