Canucks vs Oilers 05/08/21 – Odds and NHL Betting Trends

The Vancouver Canucks snapped a five-game road losing streak with their 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. The Canucks will try to earn another upset on Saturday night when they face the Oilers on the road again.

Vancouver is a +195 road underdog on the NHL odds in Edmonton at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Oilers (-235) were 3-0 over their previous three game before Thursday night’s loss.

After scoring only six goals in their previous four games combined, the Canucks offense exploded for six goals in the team’s upset win over the Oilers on Thursday. Vancouver scored on its first four shots of the game as Jack Rathbone and Travis Hamonic each scored their first goal of the season and Jayce Hawryluk got his second. Thatcher Demko fended off 39 of the 42 shots that he faced to help the Canucks hold on for their first win since April 24.

The Canucks are now 14-23-2 in 39 games as a betting underdog this season per the OddsShark NHL Database.

Connor McDavid tallied three assists and Leon Draisaitl scored two goals to continue putting up big numbers against the Canucks, but the pair was unable to dig the Oilers out of the huge hole that backup goaltender Mikko Koskinen left them in. Koskinen fell to 12-12-0 on the season with a 3.15 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage and has been significantly worse than Mike Smith (19-6-2 with a 2.26 GAA and a .925 save percentage) in goal this season.

Saturday’s total is set at six goals at sports betting sites. The OVER is 4-1 in Vancouver’s last five road games against the Oilers.

Thursday night’s offensive outburst was a welcome sight for Canucks fans who have suffered all season long with an offense that ranks 26th in the NHL in goals per game with only 2.57. Brock Boeser also scored his 20th goal of the season in the win and has been one of the team’s few bright spots in the offensive zone this season. It will be interesting to see if this win sparks some improved play down the stretch or if it was just a welcome reprieve from this season-ending skid.