Don't count the Anaheim Ducks out quite yet. They might've lost the first two games of this series against the Nashville Predators at home, but they stormed back and took a big win in Nashville on Tuesday night in Game 3 to come closer to knotting up this series.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
It probably shouldn't be construed as a huge surprise that Anaheim won Game 3 with its back against the wall. It was obviously a major accomplishment to take that first step, especially for a team which is 0-6 all-time in series when it falls behind 2-0.
The Ducks though, were only +420 to win this series for a reason, and we suspect they'll be very slight favorites once again for Game 4 on Thursday night.
GOALIE REPORT
We see it all the time in the playoffs. Teams switch goalies, and all of a sudden, it permeates throughout the whole side and everyone plays a little better. That's exactly what happened with Anaheim when Bruce Boudreau called upon Frederik Andersen in place of John Gibson.
Andersen was fantastic in shutting down the Nashville offense in Game 3, but there's still a question whether he's cut out to keep that up. Though he went 11-5 last year in the postseason for Anaheim, his 2.34 GAA was nothing special, and he had far too many important situations in which he gave up big time goals.
Pekka Rinne wasn't at his best on Tuesday, but he won't let that bother him going forward.
He's still clearly the better goalie in this series, but we're wondering if he has a truly dominant effort in him at this point. He's allowed at least two goals in eight straight outings dating back to the regular season, and though that isn't a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, especially considering the fact that he's only allowed more than three once in that stretch, sometimes goalies need to put their team on their shoulders, and Rinne hasn't done so yet in this series.
LIVE BETTING
The Ducks weren't flawless in Game 3 by any stretch of the imagination. They really needed to stay out of the box more than they did, as they spent far more time in the sin bin than Nashville did.
We'll say this about Anaheim when it's a man down, though. The team can certainly kill off penalties. The Ducks have spent plenty of time killing off penalties this whole series, but they've allowed just one goal on a rocket from Shea Weber in Game 2.
If Nashville can't improve on its 1-for-14 stretch on the power play, it's not going to win this series.
QUICK PICK
The Ducks might be back in it, but it's really tough to win consecutive games on the road this time of year. Championship level teams are able to do it, but we're just not convinced Anaheim is of that stature.
The move to Andersen was great, but he isn't going to have it as easy in Game 4 as he did in Game 3. If the Preds can get a few more quality looks at the target, they'll get back on track and push Anaheim to the brink of elimination. There's good value here in Nashville at home.
NHL Odds: Predators 3, Ducks 2
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators will start at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 21, 2016 at Bridgestone Arena. Game 4 of this series will be televised live on CNBC.
