Ottawa Senators vs. Vancouver Canucks Prediction, NHL Odds
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Nik Kowalski
For Vancouver, playing the Senators should be an ideal way to start 2024 with a bang as Ottawa comes sitting in last in the Eastern Conference. At 23-10-3 the Canucks are in the exact opposite spot, currently tied for first in the Western Conference.
Tuesday’s not only a tough game for Ottawa but the start of that classic western road swing, with five straight road games upcoming for an Ottawa team with just four road wins on the season. And when Ottawa went on a five-game road trip last month, they returned 0-5.
Puck drop at Rogers Arena gets going at 10 p.m. EST, with Vancouver -145 on they moneyline and the total at 6.5 on the NHL odds.
Senators vs. Canucks NHL Betting Odds
It’s been hard to win at Vancouver this season — the Canucks are 13-4-1 on home ice overall — but for Ottawa that truth extends on for years as they’ve won two of their last nine visits to play the Canucks. Vancouver’s 5-1 in their last six home games overall but are coming off a home loss. Ottawa’s the exact opposite, winning one of their last six on the road but the win being the most recent outing.
The over’s hit in six of Ottawa’s last eight games and in four of Vancouver’s last five. Eight of the Canucks last 12 contests against an Eastern Conference opponent have finished over the total too, but the most encouraging trend to the over is Vancouver’s league-leading 3.78 goals per game this season. Ottawa’s fifth-worst in the NHL with 3.5 goals against per game too.
Ottawa Senators
At least the Senators have a little bit of momentum on their side heading into this calendar year, as they closed out the 2023 calendar with a 5-1 blowout over Buffalo. Winning hasn’t been too frequent in Ottawa, but more frequent than good goaltending. And good goaltending is what they got in the 5-1 win as Anton Forsberg turned away 45 shots. Both Forsberg and starter Joonas Korpisalo have .890 save percentages this season, although Forsberg’s now above .500 on the year (7-6) thanks to a slightly better goals against average.
Defenceman Thomas Chabot also returned Friday safter missing 12 games because of a leg injury and notched a pair of assists. Chabot’s 24:02 time on ice average leads Ottawa.
Vancouver Canucks
Philadelphia handed Vancouver their first double-digit home loss of the season last Thursday, which is something the Canucks should be more proud than concerned of. Leading the NHL in goals per game to this point plays a large factor, and the Canucks have done so with six double-digit goal scorers and a handful more on the cusp. One of those cusp double-digit goal scorers is centre Dakota Joshua who is riding a three-game point streak and had six goals in December.
The likes of Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes get majority of the attention in Vancouver but it’s depth contributors like Joshua who have propelled Vancouver to the top of the West. And for bad teams like Ottawa, a balanced Canucks squad poises trouble.
