by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Mar 03, 2023
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Venue: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB
Where to watch: SNW, TSN3
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Oilers -155, Jets +135
FanDuel: Oilers -155, Jets +128
BetMGM: Oilers -155, Jets +125
Caesars: Oilers -155, Jets +135
Season record
Jets: 35-24-2
Oilers: 33-21-8
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Jets - Oilers preview, prediction and analysis
The Winnipeg Jets will be playing the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, March 3 in Edmonton.
The Winnipeg Jets lost against the Los Angeles Kings last Tuesday, February 28 at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg with a score of 6-5 resulting from a shootout. The Winnipeg Jets currently rank 4th in the Central Division.
Josh Morrissey scored twice and had two assists, and Kevin Stenlund scored two goals for Winnipeg (35-24-2), which has lost four straight and six of seven (1-5-1). Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves.
"I don't have a huge problem with the way we competed and the way we played," Morrissey said. "There's some mistakes clearly that we need to clean up. Some tip goals and stuff like that, but the compete was there, the effort was there. It's a team we are fighting with. It's an intense game. You know, you get the lead and you want to keep it."
Morrissey scored twice in a span of 1:43 in the first period. He made it 1-0 at 15:52 when he found a puck in the crease that was jammed loose from the net side by Mark Scheifele. Morrissey's point shot beat Copley top corner to make it 2-0 at 17:35.
"We had to attack the net tonight," Jets coach Rick Bowness said. "It was a big thing we did yesterday and this morning -- attack the net. And I thought we did a much better job of that. We gotta keep doing it. Greasy goals are scored right there. You've gotta get in there."
Anze Kopitar cut it to 2-1 on the power play 26 seconds into the second period. Kyle Connor gave the Jets a 3-1 lead with a sharp-angled wrist shot at 6:08.
Kopitar's second and third goals, both redirected point shots, came in a span of 1:29 in the second. Kopitar tipped Alexander Edler's shot at 9:14 to cut it to 3-2. He got his stick on Drew Doughty's point shot at 10:43 to tie it 3-3.
Stenlund scored twice in the second period, putting the Jets in front 4-3 at 12:00, and extending it to 5-3 with a short-handed goal at 18:26.
"We played a lot better than previous games," Stenlund said. "We forechecked well, way better. We skated way better. So, we need to bring that the next game."
Gabriel Vilardi tied it 5-5 at 15:54 of the third period when Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg fell in the Winnipeg zone, allowing Vilardi to score on a breakaway.
Los Angeles won in a shootout with a final score of 6-5.
The Winnipeg Jets have won four of their last 10 games.
The Edmonton Oilers won against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, March 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton with a score of 5-2. The Edmonton Oilers currently rank 3rd in the Pacific Division.
Connor McDavid scored two goals for the fifth consecutive game.
McDavid, who also had an assist, is the fifth player in NHL history to have a multigoal streak of at least five games, joining Alexander Mogilny (five in 1992-93), Mario Lemieux (five in 1988-89), Punch Broadbent (six in 1921-22) and Joe Malone (six in 1920-21).
"Sometimes it just goes in," McDavid said. "I felt like I was playing good hockey before and it just wasn't going in for me. You kind of get a bounce and it seems to go in for you. It is a funny game that way."
Zach Hyman and Klim Kostin each had a goal and an assist, and Stuart Skinner made 26 saves for the Oilers (33-21-8), who had lost two straight.
"I think we've been trending in the right direction post-Christmas," Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Against two of the best teams in the League this week at home (they lost 3-2 to the Boston Bruins on Monday) I think we played the right way, and part of that is offensively and part of that is defensively, and we got contributions from everybody who played tonight."
McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead on a power play at 3:49 of the first period when he lifted in the rebound of Leon Draisaitl's one-timer. David Kampf tied it 1-1 at 12:15, scoring glove side from the slot after Marner took the puck away from Cody Ceci along the boards.
McDavid put Edmonton back in front 2-1 at 13:53 on an individual rush following a turnover in the neutral zone. He skated into the high slot, cut to the outside on Timothy Liljegren, and scored five-hole from the left circle.
McDavid has 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) during an eight-game point streak.
Hyman made it 3-1 at 18:05 of the first. He scored from the high slot after his initial attempt was blocked by Morgan Rielly.
Kailer Yamamoto pushed it to 4-1 at 8:46 of the second period, redirecting a shot from Ceci, and Kostin made it 5-1 at 17:12 with a one-timer off a cross-slot pass from Ryan McLeod.
Mitchell Marner cut it to 5-2 at 1:08 of the third period with a shot through a screen from the right circle for a power-play goal.
The Edmonton Oilers have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Edmonton got off to a strong start against Toronto. Against a struggling Winnipeg team, I'd expect more of the same. Oilers 4, Jets 3
The Winnipeg Jets lost against the Los Angeles Kings last Tuesday, February 28 at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg with a score of 6-5 resulting from a shootout. The Winnipeg Jets currently rank 4th in the Central Division.
Josh Morrissey scored twice and had two assists, and Kevin Stenlund scored two goals for Winnipeg (35-24-2), which has lost four straight and six of seven (1-5-1). Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves.
"I don't have a huge problem with the way we competed and the way we played," Morrissey said. "There's some mistakes clearly that we need to clean up. Some tip goals and stuff like that, but the compete was there, the effort was there. It's a team we are fighting with. It's an intense game. You know, you get the lead and you want to keep it."
Morrissey scored twice in a span of 1:43 in the first period. He made it 1-0 at 15:52 when he found a puck in the crease that was jammed loose from the net side by Mark Scheifele. Morrissey's point shot beat Copley top corner to make it 2-0 at 17:35.
"We had to attack the net tonight," Jets coach Rick Bowness said. "It was a big thing we did yesterday and this morning -- attack the net. And I thought we did a much better job of that. We gotta keep doing it. Greasy goals are scored right there. You've gotta get in there."
Anze Kopitar cut it to 2-1 on the power play 26 seconds into the second period. Kyle Connor gave the Jets a 3-1 lead with a sharp-angled wrist shot at 6:08.
Kopitar's second and third goals, both redirected point shots, came in a span of 1:29 in the second. Kopitar tipped Alexander Edler's shot at 9:14 to cut it to 3-2. He got his stick on Drew Doughty's point shot at 10:43 to tie it 3-3.
Stenlund scored twice in the second period, putting the Jets in front 4-3 at 12:00, and extending it to 5-3 with a short-handed goal at 18:26.
"We played a lot better than previous games," Stenlund said. "We forechecked well, way better. We skated way better. So, we need to bring that the next game."
Gabriel Vilardi tied it 5-5 at 15:54 of the third period when Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg fell in the Winnipeg zone, allowing Vilardi to score on a breakaway.
Los Angeles won in a shootout with a final score of 6-5.
The Winnipeg Jets have won four of their last 10 games.
The Edmonton Oilers won against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, March 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton with a score of 5-2. The Edmonton Oilers currently rank 3rd in the Pacific Division.
Connor McDavid scored two goals for the fifth consecutive game.
McDavid, who also had an assist, is the fifth player in NHL history to have a multigoal streak of at least five games, joining Alexander Mogilny (five in 1992-93), Mario Lemieux (five in 1988-89), Punch Broadbent (six in 1921-22) and Joe Malone (six in 1920-21).
"Sometimes it just goes in," McDavid said. "I felt like I was playing good hockey before and it just wasn't going in for me. You kind of get a bounce and it seems to go in for you. It is a funny game that way."
Zach Hyman and Klim Kostin each had a goal and an assist, and Stuart Skinner made 26 saves for the Oilers (33-21-8), who had lost two straight.
"I think we've been trending in the right direction post-Christmas," Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Against two of the best teams in the League this week at home (they lost 3-2 to the Boston Bruins on Monday) I think we played the right way, and part of that is offensively and part of that is defensively, and we got contributions from everybody who played tonight."
McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead on a power play at 3:49 of the first period when he lifted in the rebound of Leon Draisaitl's one-timer. David Kampf tied it 1-1 at 12:15, scoring glove side from the slot after Marner took the puck away from Cody Ceci along the boards.
McDavid put Edmonton back in front 2-1 at 13:53 on an individual rush following a turnover in the neutral zone. He skated into the high slot, cut to the outside on Timothy Liljegren, and scored five-hole from the left circle.
McDavid has 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) during an eight-game point streak.
Hyman made it 3-1 at 18:05 of the first. He scored from the high slot after his initial attempt was blocked by Morgan Rielly.
Kailer Yamamoto pushed it to 4-1 at 8:46 of the second period, redirecting a shot from Ceci, and Kostin made it 5-1 at 17:12 with a one-timer off a cross-slot pass from Ryan McLeod.
Mitchell Marner cut it to 5-2 at 1:08 of the third period with a shot through a screen from the right circle for a power-play goal.
The Edmonton Oilers have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Edmonton got off to a strong start against Toronto. Against a struggling Winnipeg team, I'd expect more of the same. Oilers 4, Jets 3
Betting trends
Jets are 6-4 off a home loss this season.
Jets are 6-1 after allowing 4 goals or more in 2 straight games this season.
Oilers are 41-21 off a home win the last 3 seasons.
Projected lines
Jets:
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Nino Niederreiter -- Adam Lowry -- Nikolaj Ehlers
Saku Maenalanen -- Kevin Stenlund -- Karson Kuhlman
Morgan Barron -- Sam Gagner
Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo
Brenden Dillon -- Neal Pionk
Dylan Samberg -- Nate Schmidt
Logan Stanley
Connor Hellebuyck
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Nino Niederreiter -- Adam Lowry -- Nikolaj Ehlers
Saku Maenalanen -- Kevin Stenlund -- Karson Kuhlman
Morgan Barron -- Sam Gagner
Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo
Brenden Dillon -- Neal Pionk
Dylan Samberg -- Nate Schmidt
Logan Stanley
Connor Hellebuyck
Oilers:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Kailer Yamamoto
Klim Kostin -- Leon Draisaitl -- Zach Hyman
Mattias Janmark -- Ryan McLeod -- Warren Foegele
Derek Ryan -- Devin Shore
Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci
Brett Kulak -- Philip Broberg
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Vincent Desharnais
Stuart Skinner
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Kailer Yamamoto
Klim Kostin -- Leon Draisaitl -- Zach Hyman
Mattias Janmark -- Ryan McLeod -- Warren Foegele
Derek Ryan -- Devin Shore
Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci
Brett Kulak -- Philip Broberg
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Vincent Desharnais
Stuart Skinner
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
