NHL Wednesday betting picks & top odds – 9/3/2022

There are just two National Hockey League (NHL) games scheduled for Wednesday in the Americas, starting at 8pm EST. Here’s where we suggest you place your bets on Wednesday’s games.

Washington Capitals (+110) @ Edmonton Oilers (-129.87)

Washington played Tuesday night, but Edmonton enters the day having lost three straight and four of five. Edmonton is in danger of falling out of the playoff hunt and falling behind both Anaheim and Vancouver in the Pacific Division standings.

Meanwhile, the Capitals are locked in as the last Wild Card in the Eastern Conference and could pull within two points of Boston in the top Wild Card spot. The Capitals are better on the road (16-7-4) than the Oilers are in Edmonton (14-12-0). Washington is also the better team overall; they score more goals and allow fewer goals than Edmonton, and they also kill penalties better than the Oilers do.

The one advantage the Oilers have on Washington is on the power play (25% scoring rate), but the Capitals have taken only 427 penalty minutes this season. And when they take penalties, they kill power plays nearly 81 percent of the time. Get on the underdog in this one, regardless of who starts in goal for Washington.

Actually, Ilya Samsonov being day-to-day might be in Washington’s favor. In the first game between these two teams, he was replaced after stopping just one of four shots on goal. The Oilers took that one from the Capitals in Washington over a month ago, and despite playing on back-to-back days, it feels like the Capitals really want and need this game.

If the payout of +100 grows for over 6.5 total goals being scored, the over might come into play. As a general rule, it’s better to stay away from betting the spread unless you actually expect the winner to be the team that didn’t play the previous day.

Montreal Canadiens (+165) @ Vancouver Canucks (-204.08)

The Canadiens are as hot as they’ve been all season, winning four of five. Vancouver also enters the day having won four of five, and the Canucks are the healthier team. Montreal will be without left wing Jonathan Drouin, defenseman Jeff Petry, goalie Jake Allen, center Jake Evans, and defenseman Joel Edmundson.

Take Vancouver at the -1.5 line. The Canucks have a massive advantage on the power play given their 20.9 percent scoring rate and the 590 penalty minutes the Canadiens have taken this season.

Also expect more than six goals being scored, although betting the over/under isn’t attractive options when the odds are the same for each result. Both the over and under are at -109.89 now, but if that fluctuates, consider the over.