NHL Hockey Best Bets for October 24, 2015
One of the worst things about early season hockey is the leisurely pace of games. It’s good for the players to ease into the schedule but frustrating from a fan/bettor standpoint as there are too many days with only three or four games. No problem with that on Saturday with 12 games on the board. Here are the best bets:
ANAHEIM DUCKS AT MINNESOTA WILD:
The Anaheim Ducks are a mess. Actually their defense isn’t playing half bad but their offense is pitiful to the point of being almost nonexistent. They are the only remaining team with a single digit goal output–six goals in six games. The second lowest goal output for the season to date belongs to Pittsburgh with 11 goals in 7 games. This is a nightmare for head coach Bruce Boudreau who looks clueless as to what to do. And who can blame him? Heading into the season who could have imagined that an offense led by Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf would have trouble finding the net? There’s now talk that Boudreau might be fired–something that the mere suggestion of was unthinkable before the season. Boudreau can’t feel good about his future considering that he was fired in 2011 after his Washington Capitals started the season 7-0-0. Boudreau has been around long enough to know the drill–most of the mess isn’t his fault but it won’t be Getzlaf and Perry that will take the fall. The team reached a low last time out as they were eviscerated by the Nashville Predators. Sure, the Bridgestone Center is one of the toughest places to play in the NHL and the Predators are an excellent team but the Ducks looked like an AHL team in falling 5-1.
Minnesota is off to a decent start at 4-1-1 but all that gets them in the rugged Central Division is fourth place looking up at Nashville, Dallas and St. Louis. They’re not in a position where they can afford to take it easy against anyone, particularly a good team playing bad hockey.
BET MINNESOTA WILD -125 OVER ANAHEIM DUCKS
ARIZONA COYOTES AT OTTAWA SENATORS:
The Coyotes were a ‘surprise team’ for the first week of the season as they jumped out to a 3-0-0 start. The problem is that they haven’t won since going 0-3-1 and coming off a loss against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. They’re just midway through a long road trip that will take them to Toronto and Boston before returning to the desert. There’s nothing worse than when a young team starts to lose confidence and that appears to be what has happened to the Coyotes. Mike Smith has looked awful during the last few games so the Coyotes will go with Anders Lindback in net tonight. Craig Anderson will be back between the pipes for Ottawa. This is a better matchup for Arizona than the Rangers or New Jersey whom they faced previously on this road trip. Still, it’s hard to see them shaking their funk in this game.
BET OTTAWA SENATORS -160 OVER ARIZONA COYOTES