NHL Betting Preview: Colorado Avalanche at Anaheim Ducks

Added on Feb 27, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NHL

Sunday night offers several hockey betting opportunities, but we’ll focus on a Western Conference matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks. Both teams are currently on the outside looking in for postseason qualification and enter this contest on a losing streak.

Colorado Avalanche at Anaheim Ducks
February 27, 2011 5:05 PM Pacific

The Honda Center in Anaheim is still known as ‘The Pond’ to a lot of hockey fans, but at this point the Anaheim Ducks don’t care what you call it as long as they can get a win there. The Ducks are only 2 points out of the final playoff spot in the West but enter this game having lost five straight including two horrendous road performances in which they were outscored 14-4 by Minnesota and St. Louis. They’ve fared better in the three home losses, with each coming by a single goal to good opponents (Minnesota, Washington, Los Angeles). The Ducks may have had a ‘losing run’ but the Colorado Avalanche is a team in freefall–they’re 1-8-1 in their last 10 games and 6-19 in their last 25 games. Only one Western Conference team has a worse record (Edmonton) and given the current form of both teams the Oilers could catch the Avs before the end of the season. Colorado’s problem is a combination of bad defense and injuries–they’re currently dead last in scoring defense allowing 3.45 goals per game. They’re #8 in scoring offense at 2.87 goals per game but those numbers just don’t add up.

Simply put, this is a crucial game for Anaheim and the Avs are a made to order opponent. The Ducks need every point they can get and after Colorado face a rough stretch at home with Detroit, Dallas, Vancouver and the NY Rangers coming to town. As if things weren’t bad enough for Colorado, the Ducks have dominated them in the past few years–since 2008 Anaheim is 8-1 against the Avalanche including 3-1 at the Honda Center. The Ducks don’t come cheap here, and the puck line of -1.5 +140 is an option. We’d rather lay the price and cover ourselves in the event of a 1 goal victory but this is a game that could determine whether Anaheim goes to the playoffs or watches it on TV and we look for them to play accordingly against a very beatable opponent.

Bet Anaheim Ducks -200 over Colorado Avalanche