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Montreal vs. Edmonton @ Commonwealth Stadium
52,000 fans and twice as many gloves will be on hand tonight when the Montreal Canadians play host to the Edmonton Oilers for the first regular season outdoor game in the history of the National Hockey League. The game will be played at Commonwealth Stadium, home of the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos. The game will be played at 7:00 PM Est., as the wind-chill is expected to dip into the negative numbers.
Montreal has been struggling this season and enter tonight's contest having lost two strait on the road. They are 3-6-1 in their last ten contests. Edmonton has been on fire lately and enters tonight's game having won the last four games. The Oilers have a record of 6-2-2 in their last ten games.
Everyone will be healthy and ready to play on Saturday as both teams are coming off of a two day rest. Neither team is reporting any significant injuries.
It is going to be cold on the ice tonight, really, really, cold! This is definitely going to play a factor in tonight's game. The frigid temperatures will mean that all of the players will be a bit more bundled up for the game. We should see some really hard hitting action as a result. Not to mention the number of fans on hand will be looking for some action. I think we will get what we are hoping for. However, more action doesn’t always mean more goals. But in tonight's game I think it does. The goalies are the one that will be most affected by the cold. And when you have hot fired up players, tons of fans, fresh ice, and cold goalies, you have a recipe for one hell of a game.
In goal for Montreal is Jose Theodore. Theodore, though he had a rough start to the season, has been pretty constant since and holds the most number of shout outs in the NHL at 4. In his last 5 starts he holds a 1.19 GAA which is much better than his season average of 2.31 which includes 5 games with at least 5 goals against him.
In net for Edmonton is Ty Conklin. Ty has only one shout out this season, but he has been far more consistent than Theodore. Conklin has a 1.91 season goals against average and in the last five starts he holds a 1.78 GAA.
Our Expert Power Ratings place a -0.5 advantage with Edmonton. Edmonton is 14-7-0 against the spread, while Montreal is only 8-14-0 ATS. Both teams have suffered, on average, more goals against than for this season. This in combination with temperatures on the ice tonight spells a high scoring game. With all of the variables this evening, I won't try to call the final score; I will just say that I think Edmonton will win and the total to be over 5.
52,000 fans and twice as many gloves will be on hand tonight when the Montreal Canadians play host to the Edmonton Oilers for the first regular season outdoor game in the history of the National Hockey League. The game will be played at Commonwealth Stadium, home of the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos. The game will be played at 7:00 PM Est., as the wind-chill is expected to dip into the negative numbers.
Montreal has been struggling this season and enter tonight's contest having lost two strait on the road. They are 3-6-1 in their last ten contests. Edmonton has been on fire lately and enters tonight's game having won the last four games. The Oilers have a record of 6-2-2 in their last ten games.
Everyone will be healthy and ready to play on Saturday as both teams are coming off of a two day rest. Neither team is reporting any significant injuries.
It is going to be cold on the ice tonight, really, really, cold! This is definitely going to play a factor in tonight's game. The frigid temperatures will mean that all of the players will be a bit more bundled up for the game. We should see some really hard hitting action as a result. Not to mention the number of fans on hand will be looking for some action. I think we will get what we are hoping for. However, more action doesn’t always mean more goals. But in tonight's game I think it does. The goalies are the one that will be most affected by the cold. And when you have hot fired up players, tons of fans, fresh ice, and cold goalies, you have a recipe for one hell of a game.
In goal for Montreal is Jose Theodore. Theodore, though he had a rough start to the season, has been pretty constant since and holds the most number of shout outs in the NHL at 4. In his last 5 starts he holds a 1.19 GAA which is much better than his season average of 2.31 which includes 5 games with at least 5 goals against him.
In net for Edmonton is Ty Conklin. Ty has only one shout out this season, but he has been far more consistent than Theodore. Conklin has a 1.91 season goals against average and in the last five starts he holds a 1.78 GAA.
Our Expert Power Ratings place a -0.5 advantage with Edmonton. Edmonton is 14-7-0 against the spread, while Montreal is only 8-14-0 ATS. Both teams have suffered, on average, more goals against than for this season. This in combination with temperatures on the ice tonight spells a high scoring game. With all of the variables this evening, I won't try to call the final score; I will just say that I think Edmonton will win and the total to be over 5.