The Battle of Alberta is finally back as we haven't seen these two teams face off against each other in the playoffs since 1991. The Calgary Flames host game one against the Edmonton Oilers where both of these teams hate each other. The Flames are coming off a series win against the Stars that almost took a turn for the worst, and the Oilers are actually in the same boat but against the Kings. This is going to be a fantastic series as it’s now time to continue our NHL odds series with an Oilers-Flames prediction and pick.

Here are the Oilers-Flames NHL Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel

NHL Odds: Oilers-Flames Odds

Edmonton Oilers: +1.5 (-192) (+132 ML)

Calgary Flames: -1.5 (+158) (-160 ML)

Over: 6.5 (-102)

Under: 6.5 (-120)

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Why The Oilers Can Cover The Spread/Win

The Edmonton Oilers overcame a 3-2 series deficit in their first round against the Kings, but then went on to dominate the final two games to win the series. Now they face a very difficult Flames team, which they are all too familiar with. The Oilers have had a hockey mindset of “the best defense is a better offense” and it's worked out for them in the regular season. But this is the playoffs, and defense wins championships.

Sure, they can rely heavily on Connor McDavid, what's new, but he can't be the only one who steps up to the plate. The Oilers will also need help in the goaltending department as Mike Smith has been playing great so far in the playoffs, posting a .938 save percentage, but he's due to regress as he certainly has his weak spots. The Oilers would love to get a win here in game one to set the tone for the Flames and put them behind early.

Why The Flames Can Cover The Spread/Win

The Calgary Flames are a very good team with a lot of depth, but playing the stars in the opening round really exploited some weaknesses of this Flames team. Yes, they can score a lot if they wanted to, but it looked like they were an NHL team that was sandbagging down to the beer leagues. They weren't trying, I didn't notice that pep in their step like they wanted to win, they simply just underestimated the Stars, and to be frank, they got bit by them. Now they're playing a team that they're very familiar with and I'm sure this rivalry will make them turn on the jets.

We can expect to get Jacob Markstrom in net, as he's been outstanding so far, posting a .943 save percentage in the first round. He'll need to step up his game tonight if he wants to stop Connor McDavid and company.

Final Oilers-Flames Prediction & Pick

The Battle of Alberta is always such a tough pick to make because of its history and because the players take the rivalry so seriously. With that said, I'll keep it short and sweet, I think the Flames are going to beat the Oilers in five or six games. The Flames are simply the better team, they just need to step up when they need to. I expect this series to get pretty chippy very early on in this game which of course will boil over into the rest of the series.

As far as game one is concerned, the odds aren't great. I think the Flames are going to win pretty easily though, so I'm going to take the Flames to win in regulation. Again, it's not great odds, but it's definitely worth the bet in my eyes.

Final Oilers-Flames Prediction and Pick: Flames in Regulation (-105)