Bettors Pick Anaheim in Detroit
The Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings are two of only four teams in the NHL to reach the 100-point mark. Neither club, however, has played like a Stanley Cup contender lately.
The Ducks and Red Wings continue the chase for the top spot in the Western Conference when they meet Monday at Joe Louis Arena.
Both teams trail Nashville, which leads the conference with 103 points and is tied with Buffalo for the most in the league.
Oddsmakers have made Detroit -160 money line (NHL Odds) favorites for todays game, the over/under has been set at 5.5 total goals (View NHL Sports Books). Our public betting information shows that 62% of bets for this game have been placed on Anaheim +140 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
Detroit swept the Predators in a home-and-home series two weeks ago to take over first place in the West, but the Red Wings (45-19-11) have since dropped four in a row, their longest losing streak of the season.
Monday’s contest is the finale of a three-game homestand for Detroit, which has dropped the first two games in shootouts to teams with losing records. After falling 2-1 to Columbus on Thursday, the Red Wings lost 3-2 to St. Louis on Saturday.
It took two replays in the shootout against the Blues to decide the winner, and both went against Detroit. Doug Weight was awarded the only goal for St. Louis after it was originally ruled a save by Dominik Hasek, and Dan Cleary’s final attempt for Detroit was also ruled a save, then upheld by review.
"I thought that with him being in the net, the puck was in," Cleary said of Blues goalie Jason Bacashihua. "But obviously the review was inconclusive. You know it’s in, but you just can’t see it."
Before this losing streak, the Red Wings had gone 9-1-3 in their previous 13 games, a stretch capped by the sweep of the Predators. Detroit remains stuck on 101 points, one more than Anaheim, but can tie Nashville with a victory Monday.
After losing three of their previous four games, including back-to-back defeats to lowly Los Angeles and Phoenix, the Ducks beat Dallas 3-2 in overtime Friday night to clinch a postseason berth.
Anaheim (44-19-12) is in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. The Ducks set team records for wins and points with Friday’s victory, breaking the marks set in 2005-06.
"It’s nice to clinch a playoff spot, but nobody is talking about that for us. We’re in, but what does it mean?" Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "Right now it’s about getting our team to play at the top of their game and be more consistent with what we do.
"We’ll see how we can carry this out onto the road, and it starts Monday night in Detroit."
The contest marks the start of a four-game road trip for Anaheim, which finishes with six of its last seven games away from home.
The Ducks have won two of the first three meetings with the Red Wings this season, but both victories came in Anaheim. Detroit has won seven straight at home against the Ducks and has been dominating at Joe Louis Arena, losing just twice in 25 all-time home matchups with Anaheim.
by: Gary Roberts – theSpread.com – Email Us
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