Friday NHL Opening Odds
(The Spread) – With a bunched up Western Conference in terms of the playoff race, games between postseason contenders are reaching peak importance and one contest Friday night that qualifies is in Minneapolis as the Minnesota Wild host the Anaheim Ducks.
Anaheim is currently 32-22-4 on the season and sixth in the Western Conference with 68 points, but sitting all the way down in 10th place and on the cusp of being on the inside of the playoff battle is Minnesota (30-22-5). The Wild host an important game against the Ducks Friday night at 8:00PM EST that will either leave more space for the Minnesota to make up or get it right back in the thick of things.
Oddsmakers and online sportsbook Sportsbook.com have made the Wild -130 favorites in the matchup, while the over-under is set at 5.5. According to the latest trends, Minnesota is 5-5 against the spread versus Anaheim over the past three seasons.
Minnesota had won all three of its games last week, but this week has been a different story thus far as it has dropped games to the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks. Anaheim, on the other hand, had its four-game winning streak snapped Wednesday in a 7-6 home shootout loss to the Washington Capitals.
The Ducks will also be missing All-Star goalie Jonas Hiller, who was put on injured reserve Wednesday with a combination of dizziness and fatigue. He is 26-16-3 this season with a 2.50 goals-against average and five shutouts.
Minnesota will likely send Niklas Backstrom in goal as he is 18-13-3 with a 2.35 GAA and three shutouts in 34 starts.
Other NHL games includes St. Louis at Buffalo, where the Sabres are -150 favorites and the over-under is 5.5. Philadelphia is at Carolina with the Flyers being a -135 favorite and an over-under set at 5.5. Chicago hosts Columbus with the Blackhawks a -180 favorite and an over-under of -180.
For a complete list of opening odds for Friday, February 18, 2011, see below.
NHL Opening Odds, Lines & Over/Under Totals
1 New York Rangers +120 (5)
2 New Jersey Devils -140
3 Boston Bruins -170 (5.5)
4 Ottawa Senators +145
7 St. Louis Blues +130 (5.5)
8 Buffalo Sabres -150
9 Philadelphia Flyers -135 (5.5)
10 Carolina Hurricanes +115
11 Anaheim Ducks +110 (5.5)
12 Minnesota Wild -130
13 Columbus Blue Jackets +150 (5.5)
14 Chicago Blackhawks -180
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