Ducks vs Avalanche Prediction
The Anaheim Ducks will play the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Anaheim has won two games in a row, while Colorado has lost two of their last three games.
Ducks Preview
The Anaheim Ducks are 9-6-0 this season after they defeated the Nashville Predators by a score of 3-2 in their last game. Anaheim trailed 2-0 in the second period, but they scored the last three goals for the win. The Ducks were out shot by a total of 31-20 and went 0-3 on the power play in the game. Anaheim has won eight of their last ten games and they are one of the hottest teams in the NHL. The Ducks are scoring 3.14 goals per game and they are allowing 2.93 goals against per game, while going 22.4% on the power play and 81% on the penalty kill. Mason McTavish has led the Ducks this season with seven goals, nine assists, and 45 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Anaheim is Lukas Dostal, who is 5-2-0 this year with a 3.15 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
Avalanche Preview
The Colorado Avalanche are 9-5-0 this year after they defeated the Seattle Kraken by a score of 5-1 in their last game. Colorado trailed 1-0 in the first period, but they scored the last five goals for the big win. The Avalanche out shot Seattle by a total of 31-19 and went 2-6 on the power play in the game. Colorado has lost five of their last eight games and is only 1-3 in their last four road games. Colorado is scoring 3.36 goals per game and they are allowing 3.14 goals against per game, while going 18.2% on the power play and 85.7% on the penalty kill. Mikko Rantanen has led the Avalanche this season with 10 goals, 11 assists, and 50 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Colorado is Alexandar Georgiev, who is 8-4-0 this season with a 3.10 goals against average and a .890 save percentage.
Matchup/League Facts
The Anaheim Ducks ranks 9th in the league in save percentage this season (.910).
The Anaheim Ducks ranks 11th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.93).
The Anaheim Ducks ranks T11th in the league in power play percentage this season (22.45%).
The Colorado Avalanche ranks T6th in the league for Period 3 goals allowed per game this season (0.86).
The Colorado Avalanche ranks 7th in the league for shots against per game this season (28.4).
The Colorado Avalanche ranks 7th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (85.71%).
Pick
Colorado was able to get a win in their last game, but they have struggled over their last eight games. The Avalanche are 4-2-0 at home this year, while Anaheim is 5-2-0 on the road. The Ducks will be on the second game of a back to back after defeating Nashville last night, but I really like this Ducks team. Anaheim is playing very solid defense this year and I like them to keep this game close. Take the Ducks +1.5 in this game.
