Pucks of a Feather
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The Anaheim Ducks will Prove Vegas Sports Book Predictions Wrong in 2018-19

By Ed Stein

ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 7: Cam Fowler #4 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates his short-handed goal with his teammates in the third period of the game against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 7, 2017 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 7: Cam Fowler #4 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates his short-handed goal with his teammates in the third period of the game against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 7, 2017 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Westgate Sportsbook has come out with their initial 2018-19 NHL over/under points total numbers. Head to Vegas and place a bet because the Anaheim Ducks are better than they think.

Are you a gambler? If so, there is money to be won. The world’s largest sports book, The Westgate (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton) thinks the Anaheim Ducks, and the majority of the Western Conference for that matter, aren’t very formidable.

Their over/under future’s bet on Anaheim’s record next season is 96.5 points. That ties them with Vegas for second place in the Pacific Division, one point behind the Westgate’s predicted division champion, San Jose. It seems as though there might be some low hanging fruit.

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Only two teams in the Western Conference are expected to break the 100 point mark, according to the sports book, Winnipeg (106.5), and Nashville (105.5). As a point of reference, since the 2012-13 lockout, the fewest amount of points the Anaheim Ducks have earned was 101 last season. Anaheim pulled it off despite having a depleted roster for a good part of the year which featured players such as Derek Grant and Antoine Vermette centering the top line for extended periods.

This year, the Ducks look to be mostly healthy from the get-go, give or take Ryan Kesler‘s hip. Provided they stay healthy, Anaheim is a 100-point team. There are too many positives on this club to think otherwise. Five reasons off the top of my head why are:

  • Rickard Rakell has scored over 30 goals each of the past two seasons. He is on his way to becoming an elite scorer. This year he could break 40.
  • John Gibson is a talented goalie on verge of stardom in the NHL. His biggest obstacle is his own body, which he started to overcome last year by playing in 60 games. At 25 years old, he hasn’t even hit his prime.
  • Ryan Getzlaf is one of the most dangerous setup men in hockey. Last season he led the league with 0.89 assists per game.
  • Hampus Lindholm is the steadiest defenseman the Ducks have. He missed the first three weeks of last season due to shoulder surgery. It took him another six weeks to look comfortable on the ice. He’s ready to go from day one this year.
  • The Ducks said they want to play a faster game in 2018-19. If they mean it, the dump and chase will be gone and the Ducks will do a much better job controlling the puck into the offensive zone since the second Randy Carlyle era began. Ducks Nation has seen what Getzlaf, Cam Fowler, and Ondrej Kase can do with puck possession on the attack.

Next. Three musts at Ducks training camp. dark

Head out to the desert to make your bets. You can place them now and collect in April.

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