Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks Game Preview 2/21/20

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Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and the Colorado Avalanche will face off against Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell, and the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in a Western Conference showdown. The match gets underway at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, February 21, and it is being shown live on Prime Ticket.

Colorado Avalanche at Anaheim Ducks Odds

Anaheim (+130) is entering this one as the underdog to Colorado (-150), and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -130 for the under and +110 for the over.

Colorado is 34-25 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 1.4 units this season. Through 59 regular season contests, 29 of its games have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and just two have pushed. This 2019-20 Avalanche team is 18-11 SU on the road.

Colorado has converted on 19.0 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 21st in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off 78.7 percent of all penalties..

Averaging 27.1 saves per game with a .916 save percentage, Philipp Grubauer (19-17-4) has been the top option in goal for Colorado this season. If head coach Jared Bednar decides to rest him, however, the team could turn to Pavel Francouz (15-9-3), who has a .923 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average this year.

Anaheim is 24-36 straight up (SU) and has lost 11.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. 32 of its matches have gone over the total, while 27 have gone under and just one has pushed. This season, the team is 12-15 SU as the home team.

The Ducks have converted on just 14.7 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s ranked 30th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.5 percent of all penalties.

John Gibson (27.7 saves per game) has been the primary selection in the crease for the Ducks. Gibson has 17 wins, 27 losses, and four overtime losses and has recorded a pedestrian 2.99 goals against average and a poor .904 save percentage this season.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks Betting Predictions

NHL Pick: SU Winner – Ducks, O/U – Under

Betting Notes

  • Over Colorado’s last ten games, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-2 in those games).
  • Power-play chances could prove to be extremely important in the outcome of this one. The Avalanche are 19-10 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 25-12 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Ducks are 6-12 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 13-19 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
  • Anaheim (5-1 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. Colorado fell short in its lone shootout this season.
  • For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their past five games.
  • One of the best at possession and valuing the puck, Colorado is ranked fourth this season with just 7.9 giveaways per game. That figure’s trended down lately, however, as the team’s averaged 6.7 giveaways over its last 10 games and 7.0 giveaways over its last five.
  • Anaheim skaters have averaged 11.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 10.2 giveaways per game (ranked 18th).