Two of the NHL’s most productive offensive teams will meet on Friday when the Oilers play host to the Blues.

Led by the best one-two punch in hockey, Edmonton enters this contest in the midst of an 8-2-1 tear, scoring a whopping 4.72 goals per game. Are we in store for another high-flying night at Rogers Place?

Both of these clubs have offered less-than-dominant defensive play this season, but they have posted elite offensive play and have been consistent in that regard as of late. Each has played games averaging well past 6.5 goals over the past month, and analytically, they are playing very high-event games which suggests that trend can continue.

We know Edmonton will likely need to outscore higher goals against totals moving forward to win games against more talented sides, as it is hard to see this group shutting down stronger offensive teams with Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith in goal.

This looks to be another spot where Edmonton will likely need to score 4-5 goals should it hope to win, as St. Louis scoring three-plus seems a strong possibility. But to see the St. Louis defense keep this Edmonton offense in check would be surprising, too, especially should we get a break and see a Jordan Binnington start. We know Binnington will play one game of the Blues’ weekend back-to-back, so ideally it’s here. 

Either way, I see enough value to back the Over 6.5 at -110 odds — even if this goaltending matchup ends up being Koskinen vs. Ville Husso, that number should hold. However, should the matchup end up being Binnington vs. Koskinen, or possibly Binnington vs. Smith, we should gain a fair amount of closing line value. 

The play: Oilers-Blues, Over 6.5 goals (-110).