The Anaheim Ducks (14-29-5) head to face the Colorado Avalanche (26-17-3), who will be out to build on their winning run, at Ball Arena on Thursday. Anaheim is playing their last of six games on the road coming off a 5-2 win over the Coyotes on Tuesday. The Ducks committed five penalties in the game, conceding one power play goal.
Cam Fowler was the top goalscorer for the Ducks with two goals. Anthony Stolarz had a great performance with 37 saves (.948%) in the win. Colorado won their sixth straight game, beating the Capitals 3-2 on Tuesday.
Andrew Cogliano, Artturi Lehkonen, and Alex Newhook each scored once for the Avalanche. Logan O’Connor had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Alexandar Georgiev was impressive in the win, making 37 saves (.948%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Avalanche won all three games between the teams last season, including a 2-0 victory in their final meeting in January, their seventh straight win against Anaheim. Nazem Kadri led Colorado with two points (1G 1A). Pavel Francouz saved 34 shots to earn the shutout win.
FACING OFF
Anaheim is averaging 2.40 goals per game for the season, 31st in the NHL, and they are taking on an Avalanche team that is allowing 2.70 goals a game (8th).
Meanwhile, Colorado has found the net 3.04 times a game on average, 21st in the league, and the Ducks are allowing opponents to score a league-worst 4.15 goals per game.
Power play opportunities should be plentiful for the Avalanche, as the Ducks are averaging 4.60 penalties per game, fourth-most in the NHL. The visitors’ 11.58 penalty minutes a game also ranks fourth-highest. The home team has been penalized 3.76 times a game (19th) for an average of 8.43 minutes (21st).
The Ducks’ 15.71% power play percentage is the second-lowest in the league, while the Avalanche rank eighth with a conversion rate of 24.52%. Anaheim has been equally unimpressive at penalty killing, as the away team owns the league’s third-lowest PK% at 72.02%. Colorado’s 76.55% ranks 20th in the NHL.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 41 points apiece this season, Trevor Zegras (17G 24A) and Troy Terry (13G 28A) are the top skaters for the Ducks. In the net, Stolarz (3-6-0) is Anaheim’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 4.04 GAA and a .890% save percentage. John Gibson (8-20-4) leads the Ducks in games played in goal.
He has a GAA of 4.10 and a save percentage of .895%.Mikko Rantanen leads the Avalanche in scoring with 58 points (9th in the league). He has 32 goals (3rd in the league) and 26 assists. Georgiev (18-11-3) is the top goalie for Colorado with a goals against average of 2.64. He has a save percentage of .917%.
HOME AND AWAY
Anaheim is 6-16-4 away from Honda Center this season. Colorado has won three straight at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Colorado Avalanche -2.5 (+110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
