The Oilers hate to see Stars’ wingman Brenden Morrow skate onto the ice.
In Morrow’s last three games against Edmonton, he’s registered four goals and three assists. The Stars have gone 8-0-1 in their last nine games against the Oilers with Morrow in the lineup.
The Stars have posted 3.7 gpg in their last 10 meetings against Edmonton while the Oilers have averaged 3.2 gpg during that span.
The over has hit in five of the last six games in this series including a 5-4 shootout win for the Oilers on Oct. 6.
One of Dallas’ top defenders will be absent from the game which should assist with the ‘over’ angle. Karlis Skrastins, who leads the team with 63 blocked shots, will miss the game because of a cut on his right hand.
"He's a very good defender," head coach Marc Crawford said. "It's just stitches and the swelling will go down. He'd have to make a miraculous recovery to play. There's no severe damage. It just unfortunately means he's going to miss a game."
Pick: Over
Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers (-145, 6)
Two wagering questions abound when the head man of a professional sports organization gets canned: Is the team motivated to win under its new head coach? Is the team less motivated to win because of the firing of its old head coach?
Those questions will be answered on Saturday night when the Flyers host the Capitals.
John Stevens, who compiled a 120-109-34 record with Philadelphia, was replaced by Peter Laviolette on Friday.
The Flyers were expected to be a playoff contender this season, but have posted a mediocre 13-11-1 record under Stevens in 2009. The team has lost six-of-seven and averaged one goal per game over its last four while getting shutout in two straight.
"Basically we have to play with more passion,” said winger Danny Briere. “You have to stop blaming everybody and get a good look at yourself in the mirror.”
“Right now we're struggling to score goals," Chris Pronger stated. "It's going to take three guys around the net bouncing it off somebody's shin pad. It's going to take a dirty goal for us to turn this around."
Speaking of dirty, Alex Ovechkin will serve the second of his two-game suspension during this contest.
Washington hasn’t skipped a beat with Ovechkin out of the lineup, going 5-2-0 in his absence this season. The Capitals are winners of four straight and expect that trend to continue in Philadelphia.
Ice Picks 12/5
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