Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Anaheim Ducks Prediction: Can John Gibson, Ducks Dominate at Home?
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Anaheim Ducks Prediction: Can John Gibson, Ducks Dominate at Home?
The Columbus Blue Jackets continue their trip out west tonight as they take on the Anaheim Ducks in the Honda Center tonight. This is not the prettiest matchup on paper, as this is two of the worst teams and the NHL facing off, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bet on this game and make some money.
Blue Jackets vs. Ducks DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date:Â February 21, 2024
- Game Time: 10:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch: ESPN+
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Anaheim Ducks Prediction
The Blue Jackets have been abysmal all season and are in last place in the metropolitan division with a record of 17–27-10. On the flip side, the Ducks are second to last in the Pacific division ahead of just the San Jose Sharks, as they are rocking with 42 points this season with a record of 20–33–2. The Ducks find themselves as slight home favorites tonight to take care of the Jackets on their home ice. Can they do so?
The Ducks get to return home tonight after a four-game road trip. Surprisingly, the Ducks played pretty well on their road trip, beating the Sabers on Monday and the Senators last Thursday, splitting the four-game road trip 2–2 with two solid wins. They are now 2–3 since returning from the All-Star break with their lone home loss coming to the Oilers.
Frank Vatrano has been having a very good start to the second half of the season, as he leads the team with eight points since the return of the All-Star break. He is coming off a two-goal game against the Sabers last time out which helped them in their close game that they won by just one goal. Troy Terry has been an assist machine since returning as well, tied for first on the team since the return from the All-Star break with four assists.
The goalie matchup is intriguing in this game tonight. John Gibson is starting in net for the Ducks, who has been much better than his counterpart Lukas Dostal. While Gibson has a poor record of 12–20 this season, he actually has a save rate above 90%. He has a high goals allowed average and a poor record due to the Ducks' porous defense, but he has done all he can in Anaheim this season.
He’s coming off two wins in his last three outings, including that last win over the Sabers, where he saved 34 of 37 shots for a 92% save rate. On the other side, the Jackets are likely starting Daniil Tarasov. Tarasov has been the worst goalie for the Jackets this season, to put it bluntly. Elvis Merzlikins has been the best goalie in net for the Jackets with a 90.2% save rate and 3.2 goals allowed average, while Tarasov has a much worse 87.7% save rate and 3.91 goals allowed average. The Jackets have rarely won with Tarasov in this season, as he has won just three of his 11 starts.
While the Ducks have not been a good team this season, the Jackets have been even worse. The Ducks actually have the lowest win rate at home in the NHL this season, but they are getting a very advantageous matchup against the Jackets, who have sucked on the road and are now starting their worst goaltender. Gibson has been pretty good in net at home, so I will ride the home team to carry some of the momentum they’ve started to build in the second half of the season.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Anaheim Ducks Prediction
Pick: Anaheim Ducks ML -112 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.