Back Senators to stay hot, fade offense in Kings-Oilers

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We split our best bets on Friday night: The Sabres took care of business in Columbus, but the Oilers couldn't convert a 23-shot edge into a victory against the Wild.

Let's dive into Monday's plays as we look to start the week off with a mini-sweep.

Senators (-120) @ Capitals (+100)

The Senators continue to quietly fire on all cylinders. They've won seven of their past 10 games and posted a 3-0-1 record over a tough four-game stretch in which they faced the Lightning, Panthers, Stars, and Golden Knights.

The Sens looks like a completely different team of late. Shane Pinto's return has made them deep offensively, and they seem to be buying into what Jacques Martin is selling defensively. They're playing impressive five-on-five hockey and showing great discipline. No team has spent less time shorthanded over the past 10 games.

That ability to stay out of the box is important heading into a clash with a suddenly hot Alex Ovechkin, who's feasted on the power play throughout his career.

While the playoffs remain a massive long shot, Ottawa's strung together enough positive results that the postseason is at least in the realm of possibility. That should keep the players motivated, especially against a team in the wild-card mix.

With a big advantage in the middle of the ice and a lot more team speed, the Senators should be able to do some damage at even strength.

If they can continue to stay out of the box and draw a penalty or two more than they take, it'll be very difficult for the Capitals to get a result.

Bet: Senators (-120)

Kings (+130) @ Oilers (-150)

Targeting an under is always scary when Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers are in the mix - but it's a plunge I'm going to take on Monday night.

The Kings and Oilers are as good as it gets at limiting shots at even strength. Over the past 10 games, they rank second and third in that category, respectively.

The clubs have played a lot of low-event games against each other of late. Their last four regular-season matchups featured an average of 3.75 goals.

We probably shouldn't expect this game to be much different, even though the Oilers conceded an abnormal 16 goals in their three-game skid.

Stuart Skinner has sprung a leak after playing over his head for months, so tightening the screws defensively and helping the goaltender will no doubt be a point of emphasis in Edmonton.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, never needs to be incentivized to play low-event hockey. The Kings' top priority on any given night is slowing down the opponent as opposed to generating offense themselves. That will hold true against McDavid.

L.A. can also feel pretty comfortable - relatively speaking - that it'll get saves when needed. David Rittich has saved 11.75 goals above expectation since the calendar flipped - the fifth-highest rate in the league.

I'm expecting a 3-2 or 4-2 game here, tucking us in under a hefty 6.5-goal total.

Bet: Under 6.5 (-105)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.

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