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Weekly NHL Betting action sees the Calgary Flames taking on the Anaheim Ducks April 30 at Honda Center. Cappers Picks provides free NHL handicapping tips all season long.
The surprising Calgary Flames continue their Cinderella layoff run Thursday night when they open a series in Anaheim against the top seeded Ducks.
Daily NHL Hockey Odds
Game 1
Calgary (49-32-4-3) at Anaheim (55-24-2-5)
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, April 30, 2015
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Broadcast: TVA, NBCSN, SN
Flames NHL Betting Odds: +1½ -190 +168
Ducks NHL Betting Odds: -1½ +165 -187
NHL Over Under Betting Odds: Under 5½ -131
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Both teams looked impressive in their first round series – the Flames handled the Canucks and the Ducks swept the Jets. The Flames haven’t won in Anaheim in their last 20 attempts but you can throw all the stats out the window – this is a different stage and the Flames are a different animal right now.
Resiliency has been a word that has been tossed around heavily when describing the Calgary Flames and rightfully so. Calgary is simply finding a way to get it done! They will have to conjure up something special to win in a building in which they haven’t posted victory since January, 2004 however.
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And why not? The Flames will enter Game 1 with a ton of confidence and with their top line peeking as we hit the second round. Jiri Hudler had three goals against Vancouver, Sean Monahan had two and Johnny Gaudreau had two as well – that line scored seven of its 18 goals in six games against the Canucks and had 17 points in the first round.
The young talent – Sam Bennett and Michael Ferland also played extremely well against Vancouver – they didn’t seem to be bothered by the added pressure of the playoffs and could be X-factors against Anaheim.
And then there is Jonas Hiller who will have some added motivation playing against the club that let him go prior to this season. Hiller was just 1-2-0 with a 3.43 GAA and .889 save percentage in four games against his former club but was terrific against the Canucks outside of an unflattering Game 6 appearance.
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He had a 1.84 goals-against average and .942 save percentage in the first five games against the Canucks before melting down in Game 6 and getting pulled.
Defensively the Flames seem to have the horses to make life miserable for Anaheim.
Chris Russell, Dennis Wideman, TJ Brodie, Deryk Engelland, David Schlemko and Corey Potter were terrific against Vancouver and look to be ready for the challenges that the Ducks will throw at them. Not only did Calgary block a ton of shots against Vancouver, they held Vancouver’s top guys in check and they even played very well in the offensive zone.
The Anaheim Ducks have been off a full week and have only played eight games in April – rust could certainly be a bit of a factor in Game 1. Offensively the Ducks have the better talent and they have the experience.
Corey Perry had goals three and seven points in Round 1 while center Ryan Getzlaf had four points and a plus-3 rating while averaging 22:26 of ice time per game, second among all forwards. Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg, Andrew Cogliano and Kyle Palmieri were all effective as well.
The Ducks goaltending situation was a huge question mark before the playoff started and although Frederik Andersen passed the test, he didn’t really do so with flying colors. He posted a 2.20 GAA and .924 save percentage – decent numbers in four games but not exactly show-stopping.
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The Flames will be coming – you can bet that Andersen and the largely unheralded Ducks defense will be tested in Game 1.
NHL Gambling Trends
• CAL are 20-6 in their last 26 vs. Pacific.
• Under is 6-2-1 in CAL last 9 vs. Pacific.
• Under is 7-3-1 in CAL last 11 overall.
• ANA are 7-2 in their last 9 vs. Pacific.
• ANA are 41-20 in their last 61 overall.
• ANA are 61-30 in their last 91 home games.
• CAL are 2-28-3 in the last 33 meetings in Anaheim.
• Home team is 41-11-1 in the last 53 meetings.
The Anaheim Ducks are overwhelming favorites to take Game 1 and rightfully so – they have won 20 straight games at home versus Calgary. But this is a different Calgary team, armed with a couple of rookie weapons that don’t seem to be phased by the rigors of playoff hockey.
I think goals will be scored in this game – the Over – 5 ½ goals is the play here. Calgary allowed 21 goals in five regular season games against Anaheim and the Flames have scored 15 goals in their last four games.
NHL Betting 4* Free Play
Rust will also be a factor for the Ducks. This has all the makings of a 4-2 or 4-3 game.
The Over – 5 ½ goals
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