Anaheim Ducks vs. Vancouver Canucks: NHL Odds, Prediction
Still not a sure thing that the Ducks (39-24-13) will make the playoffs yet again, but they would be in as things stand today. One of Anaheim, Colorado, St. Louis or Los Angeles is going to be squeezed out.
Ducks vs. Canucks Betting Analysis
This will be the last of four meetings between the teams with Anaheim leading 3-0 – Vancouver has totaled just one goal. The one game at Rogers Arena was on Jan. 2, a 5-0 Ducks win. Ryan Miller got a nice ovation at the start of the game and then went out and blanked his former team with 31 saves. Anders Nilsson allowed four goals on 19 shots before being pulled for Jacob Markstrom.
Rickard Rakell leads the Ducks with five points against the Canucks this season, four of them assists. Defenceman Josh Manson also has four assists. Another blueliner, Brandon Montour, has scored 33.3 per cent of his season goals total (9) vs. Vancouver with three. Miller is 2-0-0 with a 0.56 goals-against average and .978 save percentage. John Gibson won the other one, also pitching a shutout.
Sven Baertschi has the lone Vancouver point against the Ducks this season. His goal on Nov. 9 was unassisted. Michael Del Zotto is a team-worst minus-5 vs. Anaheim. Markstrom is 0-2-0 with a 3.47 GAA and .900 SV.
Anaheim is 4-1 in its past five in Vancouver. The total has gone under in 11 of the previous 16 meetings overall.
Anaheim Ducks
This concludes a four-game trip through Canada for the Ducks and they are 2-1 on it following a 5-4 overtime victory in Edmonton on Sunday. Adam Henrique tied it at 4-4 at 18:31 of the third with his 22nd goal of the season, and Hampus Lindholm’s 12th at 1:21 of OT was the winner. It was the fourth straight game with a point for Lindholm, a defenceman. Gibson allowed four goals on 32 shots to improve to 13-3-2 since the All-Star break. Rakell leads the team in points (65) and goals (31). Anaheim has won five straight vs. teams with a losing record.
Vancouver Canucks
After this game, the Canucks (27-40-9) host the Oilers, Blue Jackets, Golden Knights and Coyotes before finishing the season April 7 in Edmonton in what amounts to a meaningless game with both eliminated from playoff contention. Vancouver finished a four-game trip Sunday at 2-2 with a 4-1 win in Dallas. Reid Boucher and Nic Dowd each had a power-play goal. It was only the third goal of the season for each. Blueliner Chris Tanev was out with a knee injury so fellow defenceman Ashton Sautner made his NHL debut. The 23-year-old played 12:54 and didn’t have a shot on goal. Markstrom stopped 30 of 31 shots to improve to 20-26-6 with a 2.75 GAA and .911 SV. His home GAA (2.97) and SV (.905) are both worse than on the road, however.
