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Weekly NHL Betting action sees the Anaheim Ducks taking on the Montreal Canadiens December 16 at Bell Centre. Cappers Picks provides free NHL handicapping tips all season long.
Two of the top teams in the NHL standings meet in Montreal Thursday night when the Anaheim Ducks, fresh off a 6-2 blowout loss in Toronto take on the Montreal Canadiens who most recently defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1.
Daily NHL Hockey Odds
Daily NHL Hockey Odds
Anaheim (21-7-2-3) at Montreal (20-10-1-1)
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 18, 2014
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Broadcast: PRIME, RDS, CITYM
Anaheim Ducks +1½ -275 PL +115
Montreal Canadiens -1½ +230 PL -127
NHL Over/Under Betting Odds: 5
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Anaheim
Anaheim still sits atop the NHL overall standings while the Habs are just five points behind with one game in hand.
The Anaheim Ducks had been the hottest team in the NHL before running into a hot goaltender in Toronto. The Ducks have been among the best clubs in the league all season long but one troubling trend keeps rearing its ugly head – poor defense.
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The team allowed six goals Tuesday night against Toronto – the fourth time they have allowed that many goals this season. Their 2.61 goals against average per game ranks in the bottom third of NHL teams – something that is going to change if this team hopes to go deep into the playoffs.
The Ducks average 2.82 goals per game – outside the top 10 in the NHL but they have caught fire this month averaging 3.50 goals per game. The team will be forced to play without Corey Perry thanks to a knee injury and Kyle Palmieri will be out as well after sustaining an upper body injury against Toronto. They will be huge omissions to a team dependent on strong offense and depth at the forward position.
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But the Ducks have proven resilient and as deep as any team in the NHL offensively. Ryan Getzlaf leads the team with 34 points, while Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey have combined for 39 goals. Sami Vatanen has three points in his last three games, Jakob Silfverberg has six points in eight games and Ben Lovejoy has two points in his last three games.
Goaltending has been an issue – Frederik Andersen was pulled on Tuesday after allowing four goals on 20 shots – it is unclear as to who will get the start Thursday. Ilya Bryzgalov is currently the backup for Anaheim – yuk!
Montreal
The Montreal Canadiens has shrugged off their worst stretch of the season (6 losses in 7 games) and have won the first three games during their current home stand. The offense has rediscovered its touch and Carey Price is once against looking every bit the elite keeper he is.
The Habs have scored 13 goals in their last three games highlighted my Alex Galchenyuk’s hat trick on Tuesday night. Max Pacioretty has five points in three games after struggling to start the month, Andrei Markov and PK Subban each have three points in three games, PA Parenteau and Brandon Prust each have two points in two games Brenden Gallagher has four points in his last five games and Juri Sekak has four points in four games. Montreal is getting offensive contributions from a host of players right now – a good sign as we head into the middle part of the season.
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Carey Price has been terrific the last three games – he definitely saves his best for home town dates. Price has won all three games during the home stand and has posted a 1.33 GAA over that span while stopping 80 of 84 shots directed his way.
NHL Gambling Trends
• Over is 7-1-1 in ANA last 9 road games.
• ANA are 7-1 in their last 8 overall.
• Over is 6-2-1 in ANA last 9 overall.
• MON are 8-3 in their last 11 games following a win.
• MON are 20-8 in their last 28 home games.
The Montreal Canadiens are hot – every aspect of their game is clicking at present. That’s not good news for a Ducks team that will be without Corey Perry, Kyle Palmeiri and Francois Beauchemin.
NHL Betting 4* Free Play
The Ducks have been feasting on weaker defenses as of late – if they can’t score four goals they don’t win.
Montreal Canadiens -127
Against Carey Price I can’t see them generating nearly enough offense. Take the home team to keep the roll going.
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