The Edmonton Oilers will try and play the role of spoiler in a Northwest Division clash against the Minnesota Wild this Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center. The game is set to get underway at 8 p.m. (ET), and it will be broadcast nationally on the NHL Network.

The Oilers continue to ride out the string with an uninspired 1-9 record in their last 10 games. Their current losing streak reached three with a 4-1 loss to Chicago this past Wednesday as a +161 home underdog. The total has stayed “under” in seven of their last eight games.

Minnesota is clinging to the seventh spot in the Western Conference with 53 points and coming off a huge 2-1 victory over Los Angeles as a +102 home underdog this past Tuesday. It is now 3-2 in its last five games, with the total going “over: in three of those games.

Oilers at Wild Betting Storylines

It is easy to see why the Oilers have won only once in their last 10 games given the fact that, other than a stunning 4-1 win on the road against Colorado, they has not scored more than one goal in eight of the other nine games. The Oilers are actually averaging 2.4 goals a game on the year but have come nowhere hitting that number down the stretch.

It is also very hard to win games when you are giving up close to three goals a game. During the recent slide, Edmonton has allowed four or more goals in six of the 10 contests. Look for Devan Dubnyk to get the start in goal on Friday night. In 37 previous games, he has compiled a goals-against average of 2.59 with a .920 save percentage.

Minnesota has a one-point lead over Detroit and a two-point lead over Columbus in the race to secure one of the final two playoff spots in the conference with just two games left to play. At one point during the season, the Wild remained neck-and-neck with Vancouver in the race for the Northwest Division title, but a 4-7-1 record in the month of April ended those chances.

This is another team that has struggled to find the back of the net recently, with two or less goals in seven of its last 10 games. Overall, the Wild are ranked 20th in the NHL in scoring with an average of 2.5 goals a game. Defensively, they are ranked 14th in goals allowed with a GAA of 2.6. Niklas Backstrom has started the last 13 games in goal and should get the call in this one. He comes in with a 2.46 GAA and a save percentage of .909.

Oilers at Wild NHL Betting Odds and Trends

BookMaker lists the Wild as -210 favorites in this one with Edmonton coming in at +180. The total is at 5.

The Oilers are 0-5 in their last five games playing on one day’s rest and 37-92 in their last 129 games on the road. The total has stayed under in six of their last eight Northwest Division games.

The Wild are 8-1 in their last nine games against the Northwest and 4-1 in their last five games playing on two day’s rest. The total has gone over in six of their last eight division games.

Head-to-head in this matchup, the home team is 27-10 in the last 37 meetings, and the total has gone over in four of the last five games played in Minnesota. The Wild have won all three previous meetings this season by a combined score of 12-6.

Oilers at Wild Picks and Betting Predictions

The Oilers desire to win this game and put a damper on their division rivals’ postseason plans remains high, but their current form does not give them much of a chance to actually pull off the upset. Definitely stick with Minnesota to get the win, but you might want to spice things up with a parlay with the under given the current scoring woes of both these teams.

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