With one win combined for both teams to start off the season, the Anaheim Ducks will make the long trek to the east coast to take on the New Jersey Devils. Join us for our NHL odds series, where our Ducks-Devils prediction and pick will come true.
After a thrilling 5-4 victory in overtime over the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 12th, Anaheim has given up a total of 13 goals in their previous two games combined as they continue to march on in the midst of their five-game road trip that continues tonight against the Devils. With a below-average 31-37-14 finish a season ago that saw them miss out on the playoffs in the Western Conference, can the Ducks reverse that trend and start heading in the right direction?
Similarly, the Devils have also not gotten off to the greatest start and have certainly limped their way out of the gates with an 0-2 record in their first pair of games. Under the leadership of head coach Lindy Ruff, who is in his third season at the helm, he and the entire Devils roster will be eager to prove that he is the right guy to lead the Devils back to the glory days of old.
Here are the Ducks-Devils NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Ducks-Devils Odds
Anaheim Ducks: +1.5 (-160)
New Jersey Devils: -1.5 (+130)
Over: 6.5 (-124)
Under: 6.5 (+102)
Why The Ducks Could Cover The Spread
Without a doubt, New York has been far from kind to the Anaheim Ducks as of late. With back-to-back losses out in the Big Apple to the Islanders and Rangers, Anaheim comes into The Garden State with their confidence shaken a tad but still possesses enough talent out on the ice to get the job done and cover the spread.
For starters, one name that has jumped out to a scalding-hot start and that should have a big impact this evening will be right-winger Troy Terry, who is off to a good start this season after bursting onto the scene a year ago with 37 goals and 30 assists. Thus far, Terry has compiled three goals and three assists during the first few games of the season and looks to be public enemy number one for a Devils squad that will do their best to try and slow him down.
In addition, the Ducks cannot afford to keep receiving mediocre play from their net-minder in John Gibson. Not to mention, but the Gibson and the Ducks penalty kill has been close to awful this season as they have gone 7-13 in neutralizing the puck and keeping it out of the net. With Gibson having surrendered five goals through the first two periods in each of the past two games, the Ducks cannot afford for this to continue if they want to cover the spread.
Why The Devils Could Cover The Spread
As for the Devils, New Jersey will be looking to secure their first win of the season as they are coming off of a disheartening 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in their home opener. Although it is early, the Devils no doubt want to nip their losing ways in the butt before it becomes a bigger problem later down the road.
In order to cover the spread and get the victory on their home ice, it will be vital for the Devils to receive more production from center Nico Hischier. Having missed the season opener against the Flyers, Hischier was a sight for sore eyes when he returned to the lineup to face off with Detroit, but failed to do much of anything in his season debut after racking up only three shots on goal and winning 11 of 16 face offs. Certainly, Devils fans are keeping their fingers crossed that this is only a normal case of some early-season rust and that their speedy center can take advantage of some opportunities later tonight.
Of course, New Jersey would love to show even just a sliver of good things to come after compiling a poor record of 27-46-9 a season ago. For this to happen, be on the lookout for the young and intriguing rookie right winger in Alexander Holtz to leave his mark on this contest. The seventh overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Holtz has all of the tools to be a tremendous player within this organization for many years to come.
Final Ducks-Devils Prediction & Pick
Despite both sides slumping to begin play this season, give the edge to the Devils in this one and the fact that they will be playing with some much-needed energy in large part to a home crowd that is excited that hockey is finally back!
Final Ducks-Devils Prediction & Pick: Devils -1.5 (+130)
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