The Anaheim Ducks try to regroup after two losses tonight against the St. Louis Blues. The Blues hope that the loss of Duck's goalie will give them the chance to take the victory.
The Anaheim Ducks have hit a wall with back-to-back
losses after winning 14 of their previous 18 games. They have lost All-Star
goaltender Jonas Hiller for the foreseeable future and they simply haven’t been
the same team without him.
On Saturday, they could be in tough once again playing a
back-to-back on the road in St. Louis, who has found a little bit of momentum
recently.
The Anaheim Ducks Can
Win Because…:
The St. Louis Blues have goaltending issues of their own. No. 1
goalie Jaroslav Halak is out and backup Ty Conklin gave up seven goals the last
time these two teams met.
Suffice to say, neither team is going to be particularly
strong in net.
The Anaheim Ducks are clearly the better team in this contest as
they have made some recent trades to bring in reinforcements for a playoff run
whereas the Blues are selling their team off for parts. On Friday, the Blues
traded away captain Eric Brewer to the Tampa Bay Lightning, which is a strong
signal to the team that they aren’t going to be competing for a playoff spot
this year.
The Ducks are 5-1 in their last six versus a team with a
losing record and with motivation clearly on their side, they should be able to
continue that trend.
The St. Louis
Blues Can Win Because…:
The Ducks are without goaltender Jonas Hiller and without
him, the floodgates have opened.
Anaheim was rolling right along but in the last two
games, they have given up a whopping 12 goals to the low-scoring Washington
Capitals and Minnesota Wild. In the game against the Capitals, the Ducks held
the lead four separate times but blew each one and eventually lost.
Without question, backup Curtis McElhinney just isn’t the
same caliber goaltender as Hiller and he has given up 19 goals in his last four
starts. Against the Blues, he has a career GAA of 4.06 in three starts.
The Blues are far more effective at home (17-8-4) than on
the road (9-13-5) and they have even built up some momentum. While they had
been awful so far in 2011, the Blues have actually won two straight while
defeating the top team in the league, the Vancouver Canucks, and shutting out
the Buffalo Sabres. They are 4-1-2 in their last seven games.
Outlook & NHL
Betting Prediction:
It’s tough to gauge where the Ducks are at right now.
They are the better team in this matchup and they have no qualms playing on the
road – they have won six of their last seven on the road – but their
goaltending is shaky.
Considering Conklin gave up seven goals the last time
these two teams met and that the Blues traded defenseman Eric Brewer to the
Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday, the Blues might not be in significantly better
shape. Considering the situation in net on both sides, the over is looking
quite enticing in this contest.
Eight of the last 10 meetings have gone over the number predicete by NHL odds makers including four of the last five in St. Louis. While picking a side might be
tricky, bet the over at your favorite sportsbook in what figures to be a game with little
defense.
Pick: Over