NHL Hockey Betting: Arizona Coyotes at Vancouver Canucks
The Arizona Coyotes lost an overtime game to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night but will try to bounce back here as they head to Vancouver to take on the Canucks. The Canucks were brutalized at home by the New York Rangers on Tuesday night losing 7-2. Heading into this game the Coyotes have the worst record in the NHL but the ‘eye test’ doesn’t really suggest they’re the worst team. Vancouver, on the other hand, might be. The Canucks have been awful this year. The prediction in recent season was that the team didn’t really have a good strategy for the team beyond the Sedin Twins. The cracks began to be noticed last season and they’re on full display this year. The Canucks have lost 11 of 13 and 8 of 10. They haven’t been too bad on home ice (5-4-0) but they’ve been abysmal on the road (1-6-1). The Coyotes have a similar profile–they’re capable at home but not so much on the road.
Vancouver won 3 of 4 head to head this year and they’ve won 6 of the last 9 meetings. They hold a narrow 3-2 advantage on home ice. No official confirmation on the goalies but it should be Mike Smith for Arizona up against Ryan Miller for Vancouver. Smith has been injured for most of this season while Miller has been ineffective. On the year, Miller is 2-7-0 with a 2.92 GAA. This is a potentially dangerous ‘lookahead game’ for Vancouver as they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night before a return engagement in Arizona.
There seems to be a lot more upside with the Coyotes who have shown better recent form (not hard with the way the Canucks have played)and have a younger nucleus of talent. Another consideration is good old fashioned value–it doesn’t look like a good ‘investment’ to lay a price with a miserable Vancouver team. This is a strategy that often works in hockey–in a matchup between two bad teams take the price. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Vancouver finish with the worst record in the league this year while the Coyotes at least have the potential of a turnaround.
BET ARIZONA COYOTES +115 OVER VANCOUVER CANUCKS
