Two clubs that split their head-to-head series one win each a year ago, the New Jersey Devils and the Anaheim Ducks meet at the Honda Center. The game will get started at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 9, and you can catch this East-West matchup live on Prime Ticket.
New Jersey Devils at Anaheim Ducks Odds
With a -115 moneyline, Anaheim enters the matchup as the slight favorite. The line for New Jersey now stands at -105, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been placed at 6 goals. If you want to play this matchup’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Earning 1.6 units for moneyline bettors, the Ducks are 15-16 straight up (SU) overall this year. That early-season winning percentage is a slide from what the team managed during last year’s regular season (44-38). Out of its 31 regular season matches, 19 of them have gone under the total, while 11 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 8-9 SU at home this year.
Anaheim’s converted on just 15.9 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that puts the team in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 12th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.3 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Anaheim has been penalized 4.2 times per game overall this season, and 5.2 per game over its past five outings. The team’s had to defend opposition power plays for 10.0 minutes per game over its last five home outings.
Boasting a .926 save percentage and 30.5 saves per game, John Gibson (12-13-4) has been the top goalkeeper for the Ducks this season. If the Ducks decide to give him the night off, however, the team might roll with Ryan Miller (4-5-5 record, .929 save percentage, 2.47 goals against average).
The Ducks will continue to look for leadership out of Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell. Getzlaf (22 points) has put up eight goals and 14 assists and has recorded multiple points on seven different occasions this year. Rakell has five goals and 15 assists to his credit and has notched a point in 14 contests.
On the other hand, New Jersey is 10-17 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.8 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 27 regular season contests, 16 of its games have gone over the total, while nine have gone under the total and just two have pushed. As the road team this season, New Jersey is 3-11 SU.
New Jersey has converted on 19.3 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked ninth overall and it’s successfully defended 82.2 percent of all opponent power plays.
New Jersey’s players have been penalized 4.1 times per game in total this season, and 3.2 per game over their last five on the road. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 6.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Keith Kinkaid (2.94 goals against average and .906 save percentage) has been the main option in goal for New Jersey. Kinkaid is averaging 27.1 saves per game and owns a 10-13-5 record.
Taylor Hall (eight goals, 22 assists) has been one of the top playmaking threats for the visiting Devils.
New Jersey Devils vs. Anaheim Ducks Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner \u2013 Ducks, O/U \u2013 Under
Betting Notes
- The total has gone over in four of New Jersey’s last five games.
- The Devils have averaged the league’s fifth-most shots on goal (33.4) and Anaheim has attempted the 32nd-most (just 26.4).
- A large majority (80.0 percent) of New Jersey’s wins have come by two or more goals and the team is 8-10 overall in such games. 4 of Anaheim’s wins (26.7 percent) have been decided by two or more goals.
- New Jersey skaters have accounted for the league’s 11th-most hits per game (22.3).
