Games like these are why Sunny Mehta went out and added a goaltender like Connor Hellebuyck for the New Jersey Devils. If this were a Jake Allen or pre-trade Nico Daws in between the pipes for New Jersey, this would be an automatic over or Edmonton Oilers moneyline game, but the presence of one of the league's top goaltenders and former MVP gives us something to think about, no matter how great Connor McDavid has been.
Hellebuyck has been lights out since joining the Devils, albeit with limited shots against behind one of the best shot-suppression teams in the league. That's what makes the Devils so scary with Hellebuyck: there is reason to believe he could allow only one or two goals most nights if New Jersey's shots-allowed-per-game average stays around 24.
The interesting thing for the Oilers is that they don't get a ton of shots on net, mostly because they are a one-line team on most nights. The question will be whether their superstars can get to Hellebuyck on their chances.
Shifting to the Oilers’ goaltending, Tristan Jarry’s back-to-back shutouts set the stage for a big night against the Devils. However, we’ve seen him be unable to string together consecutive great games, which is why it was so shocking when he did get two shutouts in a row. New Jersey is a top-10 offense, and I think they get to Jarry here.
Oilers vs Devils prediction: Devils 3-Way ML (+110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
