Tonight’s Picks: Can the Ducks Keep It Up?

14-16: The Flyers HAD it but they couldn’t hold off the Ducks’ attack.  Philly just can’t seem to close games out at home.  Also an empty net chance away from the Wings game tying the goal total.  I honestly didn’t expect Chris Osgood to put up such a solid effort.  His robbery on Ovechkin at the end of the first period really solidified the Wings’ chances to wrap up that game.  Unfortunately it also meant that Washington would have trouble scoring.

Looking for a great sportsbook site to place your bets? I use and trust bet365 to place my hockey bets but if you are looking for a site where you can bet for free, try CentSports. You always have a minimum of 10 cents to start off and let you bet on the NHL and other sports. When you increase your balance, you can cash out! Remember that I post these picks for fun and I encourage you to do the same (i.e. don’t bet what you can’t afford to lose). All lines are provided by bet365 and are current at the time of posting. Picks after the jump! 

Anaheim Ducks +125 at New York Rangers -145

Looks like it’ll be JS Giguere going for the Ducks and Valiquette heading up the Rangers.  Valiquette is a respectable backup but the lines haven’t adjusted to account for his start as the Rangers are still the favourite.  The Rangers have beaten some respectable opponents (NJ and WAS) on the road and Ottawa at home with Lundqvist in goal. Visiting the Rangers is the last visit in their 3 game Eastern Conference road trip where they battled back to force overtime last night in Philly, eventually winning in a shootout, and hammering Boston 6-1 in Boston.  The Ducks have a lot of momentum right now and look completely different than the team that collapsed in the third period in Minnesota.  Giguere played well that game until the Ducks ran into penalty trouble and I expect him to perform well today.  The Rangers and Ducks match up pretty evenly based on their performance so far but when it comes down to it, the Ducks are a well-tooled team, have far more offensive weapons, and can build off of their momentum from last night.  The Ducks are 5-2 in their last 7 against the Rangers but those two losses came last season.  In addition, the Rangers are 2-5-1 in their last 8 games against Anaheim at home.
Pick: Ducks +125