Recap: Felt good to beat a streak last night after failing to ride one the first time out. Both New York teams shutout their opponents 3-0 last night, did well picking one. Weird, there must be a knack for picking games that involve shutouts, that’s two in a row! With tonight’s effort we are out to break the .500 barrier.
Background: Four interesting games tonight and tough to choose just one. Going with the game on NHL Network and giving NBC a break this time. Our match up is the Phoenix Coyotes and the Anaheim Ducks who are no longer mighty. It will be an afternoon home game for Anaheim and the late game for most of us in the states. As someone who likes to notice weird patterns in the league I would compare the Ducks at home to the Capitals. At times they’re extremely strong at home versus all comers, but they’re still prone to losing any given game. You would think Capitals who has the largest ticket sales and home fan base would’ve mustered a goal against the Islanders last night. Instead they were shutout three to nil. I mention it because each team has their own kind of home attitude, and when you follow a team closely you can often tell the team philosophy entering a game. If you follow the patterns you might see that “needing” a win after a streak of losses is not always the best recipe for success at home. When playing two home games in a row, a tough fought win in the first game is often a better sign for the next than an easy win. The most surprising pattern I’ve noticed is that home teams on plenty of rest lose to road teams playing on two consecutive days more often than they don’t. This knowledge is going to help us pick the game at hand.
The Ducks have been playing their strongest as of late on the road, highlighted by a 5-0 win over Edmonton. They’ve outscored opponents a fair amount and picked up points a record six games in a row. Trends are not the important fact though. Like we’ve said in the past the importance is that Anaheim knows they’re playing well, and beginning a home stretch. Before the streak Anaheim started showing signs of success at home after a long season of struggle. Anaheim has a few star players, Selanne, Getzlaf, and Perry come to mind. The match up has been high scoring this season, tallying for a 2 game edge for Phoenix. Anaheim won the last meeting 4-1 and the teams will meet again in Phoenix later this month. Though they’re in last place behind the Coyotes, the Ducks don’t “need” a win in any sense. There are no tell-tale signs that the Ducks will fall the victim to any of our home team patterns. They are on rest since Sunday but Phoenix is also on their own one day rest. The Ducks also had to grind out a 4-2 win over the Canucks after an easy win in Edmonton. We have to expect the Ducks will fight the battles harder than the Yotes to keep the point streak alive and start a home stand with a win.
The Coyotes are looking to begin a win streak after sealing off the Avalanche 6-1. They lost to the Blue Jackets before that whom the Ducks recently defeated. The Yotes have going for them the fact they’re right in front of the Ducks in the western pacific.
There’s a small chance the Ducks will take this one easily. The more likely scenario is a close battle. Think back to when the Coyotes visited MSG while the Rangers were on a tear. The Yotes kept the Rangers at bay for two periods but were eventually howled off late in the third. Just as we mentioned Torts intimidating presence last night, the tipping factor tonight will be the “scar face” coach effect for the Ducks.
Suggested play: Anaheim Ducks ML
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