Edmonton Oilers vs. Florida Panthers: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 11/12/2022

Time: 4 p.m. ET

Venue: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL

Where to watch: Bally Sports Florida, SN

DraftKings: Panthers -170, Oilers +145

FanDuel: Panthers -176, Oilers +146

BetMGM: Panthers -175, Oilers +145

Caesars: Panthers -170, Oilers +143

Oilers: 8-7-0

Panthers: 8-5-1

Oilers: lost four of five; lost 7-2 at Hurricanes on Thursday

Panthers: won three of four; won 3-0 vs. Hurricanes on Wednesday

Tale as old as time: The Edmonton Oilers have no goaltending and no defense, and it’s showing in their recent play with things likely going off the rails rather soon. Talk about a perfect time for the Florida Panthers to go for a third straight win with reinforcements on the way.

Matthew Tkachuk will return after serving a two-game suspension for high-sticking Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick in a 5-4 loss the other night. The Panthers made sure to take care of things with their star forward out, winning 5-3 in Anaheim and following that with a 3-0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at home on Wednesday.

Spencer Knight did what most can’t do: Hold the Hurricanes to nothing on the scoreboard. The young goalie made 40 saves for the shutout, including 18 in the third period that involved two Carolina power plays. One of these days he’s coming for Sergei Bobrovsky for good, and this might be the year given Florida’s slow start.

"[He was] stronger as the game went on and required to be stronger as the game went on, especially with the penalty kills in the third period," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "I think he was mentally tested. That's just a good sign for any goaltender, for a young man to be able to build his game like that."

There’s a lot of eyes on the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners, especially after moving Jonathan Huberdeau to Calgary in exchange for Tkachuk, who has 17 points to start the year. Tkachuk has been everything as advertised for the Panthers, and with him back to face off against Connor McDavid and co., it has to be a good feeling for the Panthers.

The Oilers have no idea what it’s like to have a good feeling right now. They’ve lost four of five – the one win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Tampa, so that one is fine – but the Oilers have given up 22 goals in their four losses while scoring 11. The latest atrocity was the Oilers losing 7-2 in Carolina on Thursday that saw Andrei Svechnikov score a hat trick against Edmonton for the second time this season.

McDavid did extend his point streak to nine games with a goal and an assist, but it’s the usual with the Oilers: McDavid on an island, Leon Draisaitl right behind him, and nothing else inbetween. This is the kind of stuff the Oilers were hoping to avoid, but considering Jack Campbell is looking like a bust in goal at the moment, that’s not the best situation.

"I thought we got off to a good start, but giving up late-period goals hurts," McDavid said. "We gave up one in the first, we gave up one in the second, and playing catch-up against a team like this is not easy. It takes a lot of energy to play catch-up. Obviously it's not easy on anyone and we have to do a better job of not letting that happen."

The Oilers are a mess. I don’t trust their goaltending, I don’t trust their depth (now that Evander Kane is out for 3-4 months), and McDavid is literally doing everything himself while the rest of the Pacific Division has caught up. Tkachuk back is going to provide a spark, in which I think he has a big game and Florida gets in the win column again. Panthers win 4-2 

Oilers are 53-31 the last three years when playing their 4th game in 7 days.

Oilers are 26-16 the last three years after losing 2 of 3.

Panthers are 13-6 the last three years off 2 days rest.

Panthers are 38-22 off a home win the last three years.

Oilers:

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Jesse Puljujarvi

Dylan Holloway -- Leon Draisaitl -- Zach Hyman

Warren Foegele -- Ryan McLeod -- Klim Kostin

Mattias Janmark -- Devin Shore -- Derek Ryan

Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci

Brett Kulak -- Evan Bouchard

Ryan Murray -- Tyson Barrie

Jack Campbell

Panthers:

Carter Verhaeghe -- Aleksander Barkov -- Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen -- Sam Bennett -- Colin White

Ryan Lomberg -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart

Nick Cousins -- Eric Staal -- Patric Hornqvist

Gustav Forsling -- Brandon Montour

Josh Mahura -- Radko Gudas

Marc Staal -- Aaron Ekblad

Spencer Knight

Points: Connor McDavid -- 31

Goals: Connor McDavid -- 15

Assists: Leon Draisaitl -- 18

Goalie: Jack Campbell -- 6-4-0, 4.27 GAA, .873 SV%

Points: Matthew Tkachuk -- 17

Goals: Carter Verhaeghe -- 8

Assists: Matthew Tkachuk -- 12

Goalie: Spencer Knight -- 5-1-0, 2.18 GAA, .925 SV%