Conference Leaders Clash – Pens Visit Ducks Friday Night<\/strong><\/p>\n The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Anaheim Ducks meet in what is the marquee matchup on the NHL’s Friday night schedule with both teams looking to snap out of recent funks and looking to hold off their pursuers in their respective Conferences.<\/p>\n CLICK TO GRAB OUR BEST Expert NHL Picks for 2014 HOCKEY Betting!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Pittsburgh (41-17-2-2) at Anaheim (43-14-1-5)<\/strong> Matchup<\/a> | *Insiders* Preview<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The Pens hold just a one point advantage in the East on the heels of a 1-2-1 post-Olympic stretch while the Ducks suddenly have some company in the form of the St. Louis Blues who are two points back in the West. The Ducks are just 5-4-1 in their last 10 games overall. Pittsburgh posted a 3-1 home victory over Anaheim on Nov. 18 as Brian Gibbons recorded a goal and an assist.<\/p>\n The Pittsburgh Penguins have gone just 1-2-2 in their last five games and it is no secret why. The team has given up 21 goals over that span and have surrendered 11 goals in their last three games. Pittsburgh game up five last night en route to a 5-3 loss at San Jose.<\/p>\n Defense continues to be an issue for the Pens – they surrender an average of 2.47 goals per game. It is only thanks to their 3.13 goals for per game that has them atop the Eastern Conference standings. Marc-Andre Fleury is just 1-1-1 with a 3.57 GAA and .875 save percentage in his last three games – something that is going to have to change going forward. Sidney Crosby was a career-worst minus five last night against the Sharks which speaks to the defensive deficiencies for this team right now.<\/p>\n Kris Kunitz scored last night and is slowly working out of his slump – he has a goal in each of his last two games while D-Man Olli Maatta netted two against the Sharks and now has six points in five games. Crosby was held off the score sheet last night and will be motivated to go tonight and erase the memory of his worst game as a Pro. As mentioned though, it likely won’t be the offense that is the problem for the Pens, it is the defense and goaltending that will likely decide the outcome of this game. Anaheim is 3-0-1 in their last four games overall but is coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Habs Wednesday – Teemu Selanne sat that game out with the flu but hopes to return Friday. It is unclear who will be between the pipes for Anaheim but either way they seem to be in good hands. Jonas Hiller is 2-0-1 in his last three starts with a 1.62 GAA and .943 save percentage and Frederik Andersen is 5-1-0 with a 2.20 GAA and .938 save percentage in his last seven.<\/p>\n A few trends to consider:<\/strong> The Pittsburgh Penguins are officially in a funk. When Sidney Crosby is hurting the team more than he is helping, it is obvious that the stars simply aren’t aligning for the Eastern Conference powerhouse. Simply put Pittsburgh can’t keep the puck out of their own net. Against an Anaheim team that averages 3.22 goals per game – that’s a problem! The Penguins’ four game road trip comes to a merciful end Friday as they return home with their tales between their legs!<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Anaheim Ducks -138<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pens vs Ducks NHL Line & Handicapping Conference Leaders Clash – Pens Visit Ducks Friday Night The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Anaheim Ducks meet in what is the marquee matchup on the NHL’s Friday night schedule with both teams looking to snap out of recent funks and looking to hold off their pursuers in their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":70855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[11439,9248,2740,1972,61234,1795,9253,61232,61233],"class_list":["post-73173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhl","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-ducks","tag-penguins","tag-penguins-vs-ducks","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-pittsburgh-penguins-vs-anaheim-ducks","tag-pittsburgh-vs-anaheim"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73173"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73181,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73173\/revisions\/73181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n When: 10:00 PM ET, Friday, March 7, 2014<\/strong>
\n Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, California<\/strong>
\n Broadcast: ROOT, PRIME<\/strong>
\n Pens vs. Ducks Betting Lines<\/strong>
\n Pittsburgh Penguins +1\u00bd -245 +125 Ov 5\u00bd -104 Ov 2\u00bd -120 Un 2\u00bd -110<\/strong>
\n Anaheim Ducks -1\u00bd +205 -138 Un 5\u00bd -106 Ov 2\u00bd -165 Un 2\u00bd +135<\/strong>
\n [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/strong><\/p>\n*CLICK HERE* GRAB OUR BEST Expert NHL Hockey Picks for 2014 GAMBLING season!<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
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\nRemember when the Anaheim Ducks were absolutely unbeatable on home ice? They started the season 20-0-2 at home but have since gone 4-5-1 at the Honda Center. Ryan Getzlaf has just one goal and one assist in his last six games at home while Corey Perry has just three points in his last six home games. Getzlaf has just one point in his three games since returning from the Olympics \u2013 not a great sign for a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations.<\/p>\nDave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction<\/h3>\n
\n\u2022 PIT are 10-3 in their last 13 vs. Pacific.
\n\u2022 Over is 5-2-1 in PIT last 8 vs. Pacific.
\n\u2022 PIT are 72-32 in their last 104 overall.
\n\u2022 Over is 6-1-1 in ANA last 8 vs. Metropolitan.
\n\u2022 ANA are 42-17 in their last 59 home games.
\n\u2022 ANA are 43-19 in their last 62 overall.
\n\u2022 Home team is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings.
\n\u2022 Under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.<\/p>\n