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- What: Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks
- Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024
- Location: United Center in Chicago, IL
- Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: ESPN+, Hulu
A Western Conference matchup serves as tonight’s ESPN+ NHL game. The Edmonton Oilers start a three-game road trip in that matchup, taking on the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. The Oilers, who are in fourth place in the Pacific Division, are 20-15-1. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks, who are in eighth place in the Central Division, sport a 12-26-2 record.
The Oilers were the second-best team in the NHL’s Western Conference last season, with a 50-23-9 record. They led the NHL in scoring with 325 goals. Despite their offensive power, the Vegas Golden Knights downed Edmonton 4-2 in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Oilers struggled early in the 2024 NHL season, going 2-9-1 in their first 11 outings, but the team has found its groove as of late as they are riding a seven-game winning streak. Edmonton is 9-9-0 on the road this season.
The Blackhawks finished last year with the worst record in the Central Division at 26-49-7. The club is performing slightly worse this year, with a .325 winning percentage. To make matters worse for the struggling club, the Blackhawks will be without young star Connor Bedard, who suffered a broken jaw from a hit by New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith on Friday. Chicago ended a five-game losing skid on Sunday with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. The Blackhawks are 8-9-1 at home in 2024.
Before we look at the betting breakdown for tonight’s ESPN/Hulu matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks, check out our betting picks to win the 2024 Stanley Cup and our tips for betting on the NHL.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks betting picks – January 9, 2024
 | Puck Line | Money Line | Total |
| Edmonton Oilers | -1.5 (-168) | -420 | Ov 6.5 (-128) |
| Chicago Blackhawks | +1.5 (+142) | +315 | Un 6.5 ('+107) |
Edmonton Oilers betting breakdown
The Edmonton Oilers were expected to improve this season. Many pundits had the club picked to win the Pacific Division. When the team opened the season with just two wins in their first 11 games, those picks seemed off the mark. However, the Oilers have bounced back from that horrific start, and they might be the best team in the league since they ended a three-game losing skid on November 22. Since then, Edmonton is 15-3. They went 8-0 between November 24 and December 12 and are currently riding a seven-game winning streak heading into tonight’s road game against Chicago. The team’s fortunes turned shortly after replacing head coach Jay Woodcroft with Kris Knoblauch.
It’s not a shock to see Connor McDavid as the team’s leading scorer with 54 points and Leon Draisaitl as the second-leading scorer (42 points), but seeing Zach Hyman as the leading goal scorer on the club with 25 markers is a surprise. The 31-year-old Hyman had a career-high 36 goals in 2023. If he continues at his current pace, he will score 57 goals in 2024. McDavid leads the team with 40 assists.
Starting goalie Stuart Skinner has played 27 games for the Oilers in 2024. He has a 16-9-1 record to go with a 2.76 goals against and a .898 save percentage.
The Oilers are sixth in the NHL in power play percentage at 26.1 and 15th on the penalty kill at 80.3 percent.
Chicago Blackhawks betting breakdown
The Chicago Blackhawks are in a rebuilding stage. As such, few expect the team to contend for a playoff spot this year. The 2024 season is all about getting the No. 1 overall draft pick, Connor Bedard, acclimated with play at the NHL level. Things are working out well on that front. The 18-year-old leads the team in points (33), goals (15), and assists (18). Bedard is the highest-scoring rookie in the league while also leading all first-year NHL forwards in ice time at 19:04. The bad news is, as detailed above, that Bedard will be out of action for some time. There is no timeline for his return.
To make matters worse for the team, veteran winger Nick Foligno broke his finger in the same game and is also on IR. Foligno is fourth in the team scoring with 17 points.
The Blackhawks need secondary scoring with Bedard out of the lineup. The team ended a five-game losing skid on Sunday with a 4-3 win over the Flames, but that victory was a small bright spot. Over their past 14 games, Chicago is 2-11-1.
Petr Mrazek has gotten the majority of starts in net for the Blackhawks this season. He is 10-13-1 with a 3.26 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.
Chicago is 29th on the power play (13.5 percent) and 27th on the penalty kill (74.6 percent).
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks betting trends
Edmonton sports a 6-3-1 record in their past 10 games against Chicago. During those games, the Oilers averaged 4.20 goals per game, while the Blackhawks scored an average of 3.30 goals per game. Edmonton has scored four or more goals in six of their last 10 games, and the team leads the league with 34.4 shots per game. Chicago, who allow the fifth-most shots per game at 33.1, are averaging 2.4 goals per game in their past 10 outings.
Best bets for Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Even if the Blackhawks had Bedard in the lineup tonight, they would be hard-pressed to stop the offense of the Oilers, who are third in the league in goals per game with an average of 3.58. The betting pick is for the Oilers to beat the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks do not have great goaltending, they allow the second most goals per game in the NHL at 3.75, with two of their top scorers out of the lineup, the betting pick is for the Oilers to cover the spread.
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