Fantastic on The Road
The Anaheim Ducks have put together their longest home win streak of the season. They’ll put it on the line against the San Jose Sharks, whose last road loss came in Anaheim – more than two months ago.
The Sharks go for their 11th straight road victory on Sunday when they visit the Pacific Division rival Ducks, who have won five straight at the Honda Center.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Anaheim -145 money line favorites (NHL Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 5 goals (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 58% of bets for this game have been placed on San Jose +135 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
The Sharks (25-12-6) led 2-1 after two periods in Anaheim on Nov. 9, but couldn’t close out the Ducks, who got a game-tying goal and the game-winning shootout tally from Andy McDonald for a 3-2 victory.
Since that defeat, San Jose has won a franchise-record 10 consecutive road games, matching the second-longest road win streak in NHL history. Detroit won a league-record 12 in a row on the road March 1-April 15, 2006.
"I really don’t know what it is," San Jose center Joe Thornton said after the club’s last road win – a 3-2 victory at Minnesota on Dec. 31. "We feel comfortable on the road. I can’t put one thing on it. We try to play the same on the road as we do at home, but we got wins on the road, so it’s been exciting."
Though their five-game home winning streak pales in comparison, the Ducks (23-17-6) have outscored opponents 16-5 in that stretch.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere earned his 27th career shutout to tie Guy Hebert’s franchise record as Anaheim cruised to a 5-0 victory over Toronto on Wednesday night. Giguere made 28 saves and helped stop six power plays.
"You try to focus on your game and make sure that your part of the game is as good as it can be. And tonight we did that," said Giguere, whose only other shutout this season came at San Jose, 2-0 on Dec. 18.
Doug Weight had a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s win as the Ducks, who beat Nashville 5-2 on Monday, scored at least five goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 19 and 21, 2006.
"It does feel good having back-to-back games with five goals and have guys contributing throughout the lineup," said Weight, who became the fifth American-born player with 700 assists. "We’ve played a lot of close games that have been good defensive battles, and Jiggy’s been great. But we definitely want to help make some of these games a little easier for him."
Giguere and the Ducks have had a relatively easy time with the Sharks, against whom they are 4-0-1 this season. Anaheim and San Jose have split their two meetings at the Honda Center, however, with both games going to shootouts.
Giguere is 13-12-2 with a 2.74 goals-against average in 28 career games against the Sharks, while San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov is 17-14-3 with a 2.35 lifetime GAA in 36 games versus Anaheim.
San Jose’s success on the road has garnered most of the attention, but the Sharks have also played well at home of late. They rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit to cap a 3-0-1 homestand with a 3-2 victory over Toronto on Saturday.
"Once we broke the ice, we felt better and they felt worse, and you could see the difference from that point on," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "We were all over them, they took some penalties, and the next thing you know, it’s lights out."
The Sharks have recorded a point in eight straight games, going 7-0-1 since a 5-2 home loss to Anaheim on Dec. 22.
by: Staff Writers – Email Us
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