NHL Preview: Anaheim Ducks

Charlie Boccanegra likes the Ducks’ offense to carry a suspect defense to the playoffs and beyond.

The Anaheim Ducks were one of the hottest teams down the stretch of the regular season last year only to fall short to the Predators in the first round of the playoffs. This team has all the making of getting back to the playoffs due to their outstanding offense, which features arguably the best first and second lines of scoring in the NHL.

The first line features 2011 MVP Correy Perry, all star Ryan Getzlaf and one of the biggest rising stars in Bobby Ryan. The second line is outstanding with the veterans Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu and Jason Blake.
With their offensive power bettors may be intrigued to wager on the Ducks to win the Stanley Cup at 28/1 NHL betting odds. I would suggest proceeding with caution due to the rest of the team still having flaws that would prevent them from being an elite Stanley Cup contender.

This all starts on the backend where the defense has done nothing to improve from last year. Visnovsky and youngster Cam Fowler are two of the smoother skating offensive defenseman in the NHL who will anchor the power play, but they’re not as strong defensively as they are offensively.

The only physical stay at home defenders are veterans Toni Lydman and Francois Beauchemin, players who are pretty much the opposite in terms of their skillset and what they bring to the ice. While it’s nice to know the Ducks have some complementary pieces they still lack a true #1 stud defensman and have zero depth, being overly reliant on Sheldon Brookbank and the disappointing Luca Sbisa.

Based on the structure and personnel on this team I will be looking to bet on a ton of OVERS in Anaheim Ducks games. I would be interested in supporting their side when playing average to lower tier defensive teams, because they can beat most teams in shootout style hockey. However, against top-notch opponents with better defense I would expect them to be able to find a way to limit their offense and expose their weak defense.

The only way this team can become an elite contender is if goalie Jonas Hiller remains healthy and plays consistent for an entire season. We have seen him single handedly steal a series for the Ducks as a #8 seed against the Sharks in the playoffs a few years ago. And show the same dominance on an international level playing for his home country of Switzerland.

I am not so confident Hiller can get back to his dominating ways due to his issues with vertigo. Even if he comes back healthy there is no guarantee he makes it through the whole year.

+600 for the Ducks to win the Pacific Division is tremendous value. They are ranked third behind the Sharks & Kings at +150 to +170 range. The oddsmakers are indicating a far bigger gap in talent & capability then the reality is between these teams.