By Greg Dempson
Pinnacle Sports Nashville Predators +136 v Anaheim Ducks -150 Total 5 O-115 U+104
The puck drops at 10:30 ET as the Predators tangle with the Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The two teams previously met in the playoffs in 2011 but the landscape has changed a lot since then. There are three holdovers on the Ducks team from that series, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and blue liner Cam Fowler. Getzlaf has has 37 points in 34 games versus Nashville.
The notable returnee from that 2011 playoff series for the Predators is goaltender Pekka Rinne.These two teams have not met since early in the season, November 17 to be exact, a (3–2,) home win for Nashville.
In a definite scheduling quirk the teams played all three games at or near the start of the season with the Predators being victorious at home, (5–1,) on October 22 while the Ducks won in Anaheim n November 1st, (4–2.)
So much has changed since their last meeting especially when it pertains to offense for the road team this evening. Prior to the arrival of Ryan Johansen, Nashville was averaging 2.55 goals per game but that increased to an average of 2.90 per game, a significant upgrade.
Filip Forsberg led the Predators with 64 points and tied the franchise record with 33 goals while also leading the NHL scoring 12 goals in February,
As for the Ducks, they floundered early in the season and the rumor mill began swirling early as to the future of their head coach. Anaheim turned things around and finished strong. The team added forward David Perron who should play tonight as well as Kesler and Rakell.
The Net Result
· Let’s go for win number three at the EE site this evening and all the games I forward to Every Edge will feature juice of –120 or lower or small dogs, no bankroll burners.
· Anaheim is 20 – 11 to the over after playing a road game.
· The Predators are 30–11 to the over the past two seasons when facing a team that is winning between 51% to 60% of their games.
· The Ducks are 14 – 6 to the over after a two game unbeaten streak this season.
· In the second half of the season the past two seasons Nashville is 27–12 to the over when playing against a team with a winning record.
· The Ducks led the league in power play efficiency this season at 23.1% this season.
· These two teams have produced 5 or more goals in their last 10 meetings and each team has more firepower now than they did at the beginning of the season. In their last 10 meetings these two teams are 9–0–1 to the over with only the most recent match-up resulting in a push. The previous nine games saw 59 goals scored.
NHL Pick
My Every Edge selection for tonight is for the Predators and Ducks to sail over 5 goals at –115.
For additional winning selections and systems visit www.gregdempson.com.