The Anaheim Ducks have never won a series in their history in which they've fallen behind 2-0. Not only are they down two games, but they've lost their first two on home ice. They were the incredibly public side in both of the first two games, and they're very likely to be public chalks once again in a must-win Game 3 on the road against the Nashville Predators.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
Kudos goes out to Nashville for weathering the storm time and time again with the Ducks. Anaheim was favored by a -157 margin in Game 1 and at -174 in Game 2, and looked the part of the better team for the majority of both affairs.
That said, the Predators just kept grinding every single shift, and they made the dirty plays they had to make in order to get some shots past John Gibson.
We suspect the Ducks will be slight favorites on the road in this game even though Nashville won at home 23 times in the regular season.
Do note that both games were decided by matching 3-2 score lines, and that now makes three straight duels dating back to the regular season decided by the same 3-2 final.
GOALIE REPORT
Frederik Andersen's name never came up on the NBCSN broadcast on Sunday night, but we wonder if it will over the course of the next two days before these teams take the ice in Nashville. It's not really all Gibson's fault that his team is down 2-0, but he's allowed two softies to get past him in this series, and that just can't happen when you've got Pekka Rinne on the other side of the ice.
Rinne was a man amongst boys in Game 2. His stats don't look incredibly impressive at 27-of-29 in the save department, but he was fantastic with the puck in his trapezoid, and after allowing an early goal, there was nothing getting by him the rest of the way. Nate Thompson's late 3rd period goal was nothing but a footnote, and it never felt like the Ducks were going to put another one home to tie the game.
LIVE BETTING
We're really worried about the Ducks and their finishers in this series to date. Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler and Corey Perry were dead silent in Game 2, as the three combined for a total of just six shots on goal. Perry took a couple dumb penalties early in the game and was just never really involved in the proceedings.
The Ducks did a lot of the little things right. Winning faceoffs and getting to a lot of loose pucks, and their penalty kill was out of this world aside from a wicked blast from Shea Weber at the end of the second period. Doing things like that should translate into wins when you've got superstars on the ice, but the stars haven't shined at all thus far for Bruce Boudreau and company.
QUICK PICK
And that's exactly why we like Nashville to really put the clamps on this series and take a three nil lead. The Predators continue to get outplayed, yet they've only spent a handful of minutes behind in this entire series. Every time the Ducks come up with a good spurt, they counter back and end up with a great spurt of their own, one which often ultimately looks more threatening.
If Gibson starts this game, we'll have no hesitation to back the Predators. We think Anaheim needs a spark, and the switch to Andersen might do just that. It might also be too little, too late however.
NHL Odds: Predators 3, Ducks 2
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! Game 3 of this series between the Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators will commence on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 9:30 p.m. ET at Bridgestone Arena. The contest will be broadcast nationally on USA.
