If you love betting on Hockey, then game 7 of the Predators and Ducks game probably has gotten you itching with excitement. The last ticket for the second round of the NHL Playoffs has not yet defined as Nashville forced Anaheim to take this series to an epic game 7 at the Honda Center.
At the beginning of the series, the Ducks were the -170 favorites to win the series at SBG Global sportsbook. Back then; we predicted the series would go to six games, and that the Ducks would take the series. But, we did state however that the +150 underdog Predators had a real viable chance of testing Anaheim and taking them to the limit. When it came down to game 6, we had our second thoughts of our initial prediction. But, betting on hockey for this game meant taking into consideration two things: first, the Ducks have a history of struggling with potential series clinching games and second, the Predators have not won a playoff series in 8 tries, when trailing after five games.
The Ducks and Preds had a very back and forth exchange all throughout the series, with the Preds stunning the Ducks and taking the first two games of the series. Then the Ducks rallied from behind and got three games in a row, with the possibility of knocking out the Predators in game 6. But Nashville would bounce back, and push this to another NHL playoffs game. It is glory for fans betting on hockey.
The pressure will definitely be on the Ducks to close out the series at home, where Nashville already took two games. For this final showdown, the Anaheim Ducks open up as -1½ (+245) favorites at the best sportsbook online. They are at home and they will want to demonstrate the same level of hockey they had all season long. But they will need to produce some more on the offensive end. Also, the Predators’ goaltender Pekka Rinne played a phenomenal game six, almost shutting out the Ducks. If he manages to keep that level, the Ducks have a very complicated task at hand.
And to mount some more pressure on the Ducks, a game 7 brings back painful memories for them as in three years they have lost series at the last game, and at home. It happened on 2013 versus the Red Wings, in 2014 versus the LA kings and just last year, versus the Chicago Blackhawks. This has to be in the back of the mind of the entire Anaheim roster.
This game is going to be tight, gritty and very close. The Preds will rely on Rinne to have a wonderful game and Ryan Johansen and James Neal to be effective in the attack, as for the Ducks; Ryan Getzlaf will need to command this team to overpower and shake off their Game 7 ghosts. It might be a low scoring game that might only be decided by a single goal for either team. The line holds Anaheim as betting on hockey favorites, but given that the Preds have been able to beat the Ducks twice on the road, and ALMOST got them on game 5, an upset is coming.