Edmonton Oilers vs New York Rangers Prediction: Best Bet for Sunday

Edmonton is 6-0-0 on the road and scores 4.21 goals per game, and Sunday it finishes a New York weekend at Madison Square Garden against a Rangers team that is 6-1-0 at home, has not played in five days and does not have Igor Shesterkin. One of those home and road records has to bend, and the goaltending column says it will not be Edmonton's offense that does it.

The Matchup

Edmonton is 10-2-2 with a plus-1.21 differential, scoring 4.21 goals per game, and Connor McDavid has 37 points in 14 games, with 29 assists, while Leon Draisaitl has 12 goals and 26 points and Evan Bouchard has 23 points from the blue line. The Oilers won 4-0 at the Islanders on Saturday, so Sunday is the second half of a back-to-back, played across town rather than across the country.

Edmonton is doing it without Zach Hyman, who is on injured reserve with a neck injury, and Isaac Howard is out with a knee injury, absences that trim the wings without touching the players who decide Edmonton's games. New York is 7-6-1 at plus-0.14, scoring 3.14 per game and allowing 3.00, and the Rangers' season is a split that makes no sense until you split it. They are 6-1-0 at Madison Square Garden and 1-5-1 on the road.

Adam Fox leads New York with 17 points and 16 assists, and Alexis Lafreniere has 9 goals. But the Rangers have lost three straight, have not played since Monday, and Igor Shesterkin is on injured reserve with a knee injury, removing the goaltender who has covered for this team's quiet stretches for years. Braden Schneider is day-to-day with an illness for New York. Keep an eye on whether Schneider plays before placing a bet.

Key Factors

The crease is closer than the names suggest, and that favours the better offense. Dylan Garand has been solid for New York at 2.69 goals against and a .899 save percentage with a shutout, and Tristan Jarry sits at 2.53 and .901 with two shutouts for Edmonton, with Devon Levi on injured reserve. Near-even goaltending turns the game over to the skaters, and Edmonton's skaters score more than a goal per game more than New York's.

The Rangers' best answer is their penalty kill, which at 90.5 percent is built to survive Edmonton's power play at 33.3 percent, and if New York stays out of the box and kills what it takes, the Oilers' biggest weapon dulls. Rest cuts the other way in a less obvious direction. New York has had five days off, which heals a roster but dulls its timing, while Edmonton played Saturday and has to find its legs again in the third period.

The honest counterpoint is the Garden itself. A 6-1-0 home record is not a fluke over this many games, Fox controls games from the point in this building, and Edmonton's penalty kill at 74.4 percent gives New York a route to the goals it needs. If the Rangers score on an early power play and the building gets loud, a tired Edmonton team can spend the night chasing.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.