The red-hot Edmonton Oilers host the Minnesota Wild in a rare Friday night game in Alberta. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Wild-Oilers prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Wild have won four of their last five games, losing to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. The Canucks game was an opportunity to extend their winning streak to five games, but they couldn't solve the Canucks' backup goaltender. It won't get any easier for them Friday night, as they face the hottest team in the league. The Wild hold a 9-11-4 record due to their seven-game losing streak before their recent stretch. The Wild struggled to find consistent goaltending, but Filip Gustavsson has taken the reins in the last five games. He has allowed two or fewer goals in four straight games, with Marc-Andre Fleury also grabbing a 4-1 win in the middle of that stretch.

It's hard to believe that the Oilers were in panic mode a month ago. They had just fired their head coach, Jay Woodcroft, and brought in Connor McDavid's former junior coach, Kris Knoblauch. They were in last place in the NHL standings and showed no signs of righting the ship. Fast forward a month, and the Oilers have won eight of their past 11 games. They are seven points back of a Western Conference wildcard position and have three games in hand. Connor McDavid is in the middle of a seven-game point streak, totaling 19 points. Defense and goaltending were a significant concern for the Oilers, but Stuart Skinner is 5-0-0 with a 1.58 goals-against average over his last five starts.

Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NHL Odds: Wild-Oilers Odds

Minnesota Wild: +1.5 (-144) ML (+160)

Edmonton Oilers: -1.5 (+120) ML (-194)

Over: 6.5 (-130)

Under: 6.5 (+106)

How to Watch Wild vs. Oilers

Time: 9 PM ET/6 PM PT

TV: Bally Sports, Sportsnet

Stream: FuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Wild Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Oilers' recent form is intimidating to fade, but we have seen the Oilers fall apart on more than one occasion this season. You should also monitor the Oilers' goaltending situation. Stuart Skinner is playing lights out, and his usual goalie partner is in the minor leagues, so Skinner has started 12 of the last 13 games. The Oilers will need to give him a break at some point and rely on Calvin Pickard, no matter how much success Skinner is having. The Oilers' starter hasn't been announced yet, but if they go with Pickard, the Wild's value in this matchup increases.

Why The Oilers Will Cover The Spread/Win

No team in the league wants to be standing in front of the Oilers and a red-hot Connor McDavid. McDavid has 19 points in his last seven games and shows no signs of slowing down. An injury that hindered his ability at the beginning of the season seems to be fully healed, and McDavid is determined to bring his team back to the playoff picture. The Oilers are a scary team to bet against when McDavid is firing on all cylinders. They could be facing a deficit at any point in the game, and there's always a possibility that he can break through and make a comeback.

What makes them even more difficult to beat is that they seem to have figured out their defensive woes. The Oilers are outscoring the opposition 26-8 over the five-game winning streak. Other than a 5-4 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights, Skinner hasn't allowed more than two goals, including a shutout to begin the streak and two straight games of just one goal.

Final Wild-Oilers Prediction & Pick

You don't want to be the person sitting there with a Minnesota Wild ticket as Connor McDavid is putting up three or four points. The Wild have been on a good run of their own as of late, but it's important to note in their last ten games, wins have come against the Flames, Blackhawks, Predators, and Blues. Their losses are against the Canucks, Red Wings, Avalanche, Maple Leafs, Stars, and Senators. If you consider the Oilers one of the good teams in the league again, they fall in the caliber of teams that have beaten the Wild.

This will also be the Wild's third game in four nights. Filip Gustavsson started the first two games in Western Canada, so it will likely be Marc-Andre Fleury's start on Friday night. Fleury has been the backup this season, boasting a 4-4-1 record with a 3.21 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage. Much of Minnesota's success over the past five games has been in the hands of Gustavsson, so it will be a tough ask for Fleury to come into Edmonton and steal a win.

Betting the Oilers to hit the over has also been a good bet in the early part of the season, but Stuart Skinner's run over the past five games is too risky to bet against. A tired Minnesota Wild team may struggle to find the back of the net in this game.

Final Wild-Oilers Prediction & Pick: Oilers -1.5 (+120)