Top NHL Betting Picks for Thursday, November 11 (2021)
Thursday brings us an exciting 11-game slate highlighted by a marquee matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins. Below we’ll break down the betting angles of that game.
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Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
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Edmonton Oilers (+115) vs. Boston Bruins (-135)
This game will no doubt be the game of the night. Both teams are Stanley Cup contenders, as indicated by their current odds. Edmonton sits at (+1200) and Boston at (+1400).
The Oilers have gotten off to a roaring 9-2 start. Led by the duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl who have combined for an astounding 46-points to date.
Depth and secondary scoring have long been an issue for this team. However, they addressed these issues in the offseason by bringing in wingers Zach Hyman and Warren Foegle; along with Cody Ceci on defense.
Goaltending was projected to be an issue, but Mikko Koskinen has been a surprise to date with a 2.54 GAA and 1.8 GSAA. It’s too small of a sample size to determine if he has improved or not, although promising.
The Bruins have gotten off to a mediocre 6-4 start as depth scoring continues to be a problem. Behind the “perfection line†of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak they struggle to find consistent goal scoring.
Taylor Hall is supposed to remedy this issue, but he has gotten off to an underwhelming start. Charlie McAvoy continues to take steps on defense while contributing offensively with six points, and rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman has continued his solid play from his ten-game audition late last season.
Let’s look at each team’s advanced metrics this season 5v5:
Numbers courtesy of Evolving-Hockey
- CF%: EDM (51.09) BOS (56.39)
- xGF%: EDM (47.92) BOS (57.55)
- xGF/60: EDM (2.60) BOS (2.33)
- xGA/60: EDM (2.83) BOS (1.72)
These numbers indicate that despite their lesser record and injury concerns, the Bruins have primarily been better than the Oilers from an analytical perspective.
If there’s a team that can slow down McDavid and Draisaitl it’s the Bruins. They play a stout defensive structure that slows down their opponents and suffocates their chances in high danger areas.
We’ll see them execute their game at the highest level tonight as Bruce Cassidy looks to contain this explosive offensive team.
They will also have an advantage in goal with Linus Ullmark who has registered a 2.59 GAA and 0.8 GSAA this season. Koskinen has been solid but I believe that is a mirage.
Pick: Boston Bruins (-135) or better | Under 6 (+100)
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Jordan Anderson is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jordan, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @Jordan_A03.