Up to NHL Free Picks

in NHL Free Picks

NHL Betting - Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks

Bookmark and Share by Ian James

Two of the more active teams on NHL trade deadline day were the Colorado Avalanche and the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim was busy juggling the backup goaltender situation and also added a veteran defenseman while the Avalanche made probably the most significant deal on Wednesday.

Colorado has moved Wojtek Wolski to the Phoenix Coyotes for Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter. This deal involves an exchange of former first-round draft picks who, in

Mueller`s case especially, haven`t lived up to their potential. The third piece of the puzzle going to Phoenix is a former Hobey Baker Award winner Kevin Porter, who played at Michigan and is currently playing for the AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Wolski is the best player in this deal as he`s had the most success at the NHL level. The 24-year-old left winger was selected 21st overall in the 2004 NHL entry draft by Colorado and scored 73 goals and 102 assists in 302 games, all with the Avalanche. Mueller was picked eighth in the 2006 draft and has been a bust since a strong rookie season in which he notched 54 points in 81 games. Since then, Mueller has scored just 17 times in the last 126 games and had fallen into head coach Dave Tippet`s doghouse.

The Anaheim Ducks have been busy making backup goaltender moves as Vesa Toskala is packing his bags again. The Ducks shipped him to the Calgary Flames in exchange for their backup, Curtis McElhinney. Toskala was sent to Anaheim, along with Jason Blake in January for J.S. Giguere. McElhinney has only appeared in 10 games this season as Miikka Kiprusoff gets the lion share of starts in Calgary. The other netminder move that the Ducks made today was sending Justin Pogge to Carolina for defenseman Aaron Ward. Ward will be a solid veteran guy that is a big pickup heading into the playoff run.

Here are some NHL betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

  • Under is 3-0-1 in the last 4 meetings in Anaheim.
  • Favorite is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings.
  • Under is 9-4-1 in the last 14 meetings.
  • Home team is 17-8 in the last 25 meetings.
  • Avalanche are 0-5 in the last 5 meetings in Anaheim.
  • Avalanche are 0-5 in the last 5 meetings.

Anaheim hasn't played since Valentine’s Day, a 7-3 rout of Edmonton. Most of the team shouldn`t have any rust as there were several Ducks who saw action during the Olympics. As a matter of fact, five of them participated in Sunday's Gold Medal Game between Canada and the United States, three of whom were on the winning side.

Scott Niedermayer was Team Canada`s captain for the Olympic Games, Ryan Getzlaf was among the team`s leading scorers with three goals and four assists and Corey Perry scored a big goal in Sunday's 3-2 overtime win over Team USA. The guys on the silver medal side were Bobby Ryan and Ryan Whitney.

That being said, the Ducks may also have a bit of a hangover after so many of their guys were involved late in the tournament. With Colorado getting +115 against the NHL moneyline, they might be a smart pick tonight.