The Anaheim Ducks (17-23-5) visit the Gateway to the West to play the St. Louis Blues (29-10-7) in the Enterprise Center for an 8 p.m. ET puck drop Monday night. We analyze the Ducks-Blues odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips around this matchup.
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Ducks at Blues: Projected starting goalies
John Gibson vs. Jake Allen
Gibson has had a rough season and really struggles on the road, going just 4-11-2 in away games. The 26-year-old goaltender has lost five of his last six games and now has an overall record of 13-18-3 with .905 save percentage and 2.96 goals against average.
Allen will give regular starter Jordan Binnington the night off and has played well as backup this season. He’s 7-3-3 overall and actually has a better save % (.924) and GAA (2.36) than Binnington. However, Allen has lost back-to-back starts and is 1-1 in his only two starts at home.
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Ducks at Blues: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Monday at 3 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Blues 4, Ducks 1
Moneyline (ML)
PASS on the moneyline for the Ducks-Blues game. The Ducks’ putrid 6-14-2 road record and the Blues’ stellar 16-4-3 home record are the chief reasons why. I am not confident enough to gamble on a Ducks +195 outright win and it’s too pricey to lay $239 to win $100 for a Blues victory. Also, factor in the Ducks’ and Blues’ recent performances as another reason to stay away: Ducks are 3-6-1 and the Blues 7-2-1 in each of their last 10 games.
Two interesting notes that make it difficult to back Blues -239: the away team in Ducks-Blues games have won seven in a row and the underdog is 5-2 in the last seven meetings.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
Let’s gamble a little on tilted ice in favor of the home team and BET the BLUES -1.5 (+120). Again, we are off the moneyline and on the puck line because of their values. The Ducks have the second-highest penalties in minutes per game in the NHL and the Blues have scored the fifth most power-play goals with the fourth-most efficient power-play unit in the NHL. Plus, look no further than the starting goaltenders for another reason why to take the Blues on the puck line; Gibson is 16-18 against the spread and Allen is 8-5 ATS this season. The Blues have the fourth-best goal differential in the NHL compared to the Ducks’ 29th ranking in goal differential.
Over/Under (O/U)
The Ducks and Blues are bottom-10 teams for total goals scored per game in the NHL, and the Ducks have scored the second-fewest goals in the NHL this season. Also, the Under’s 5.5 (-129) pricing leans me toward taking it because it’s BetMGM’s way to incentivize bettors to take the Over. TAKE UNDER 5.5 (-129).
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