ANAHEIM DUCKS VS. COLORADO AVALANCHE – 10/26/2019 FREE PICK & NHL BETTING PREDICTIONS

Can Anaheim hand Colorado their first home loss of 2019/20? The odds are kind of stacked against the Ducks as they are in the midst of a losing streak coming into the Pepsi Center on Saturday night.

Colorado looked a bit human on their most recent road trip, but it was still a very successful trip away from Denver. Despite their red hot start, the Avs are just 2 points up on Nashville in the Central.

Anaheim Ducks

Anaheim has run a tough little gauntlet lately. They lost a 2-1 decision to the Flames at home before heading out as underdogs in losses at Nashville (1-6) and Dallas (1-2). The Ducks have lost 3 in a row and have slumped to 5th in the Pacific.

It’s obvious the reason for Anaheim’s recent struggles and that’s their offense, which has scored only 3 goals total in the last 3 games. The Ducks are 27th in the league in scoring and SOG, while ranking 2nd to last in offensive power play.

Anaheim may get a bit of a break as Colorado is in action in a tough game at Vegas on Friday night. That means the Ducks offense will probably catch a backup in net.

What’s frustrating for Anaheim fans is that their defense and goaltending have been good enough to win lately. The Ducks held both Calgary and Dallas to 2 goals but couldn’t get wins. They did get tagged for 6 goals vs. Nashville though.

John Gibson has been pretty solid for the Ducks outside of the Nashville start. He will not only get Colorado on the back-to-back, the Avs will be missing one of their leading scorers as Mikko Rantanen nurses an ankle injury.

Colorado Avalanche

The line for Saturday night’s game is late coming out. Expect Colorado to be slight favorites, but they are playing on leg two of a back-to-back after a game in Vegas on Friday.

The Avs must also deal with the loss of Rantanen. The RW has been a major part of Colorado’s #1 scoring offense, leading the team in points with 12.

The good thing for Colorado is that their offense is incredibly deep and talented. Nathan Mackinnon also has 12 points on the year and Tyson Jost had a game with 3 goals on 3 shots earlier vs. Tampa Bay. Gabriel Landeskog is also due to step up in the wake of Rantanen’s injury.

Colorado will likely burn up Philipp Grubauer in the game at Vegas which means Pavel Francouz will probably get the nod vs. Anaheim. He’s allowed a 1.95 GAA average in two games but while facing a lot of work in an average of 41 SOG.

NHL Betting Trends:

Ducks are 4-0 last 4 Saturday games
Ducks are 1-4 last 5 road games
Avalanche are 14-2 last 16 as home favorite
Avalanche are 7-2 last 9 overall
Home team is 6-2 last 8 meetings

Free Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks NHL Prediction:

Bad goaltending is the name of the game in this one. Factor in the early Saturday start and the sleepy defenses and the ‘over’ is the only play to make here, especially with Colorado being so costly at -171.

4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Ducks ML

There has to be great value on Anaheim in this one as Colorado will be battered and bruised after a visit to Vegas on Friday night. Colorado’s backup goaltender has played well, but it’s also been in small sample sizes.