Thursday night is once again a busy one in the NHL, with 22 of 32 teams hitting the ice, including the newest one.
The Anaheim Ducks will head to Climate Pledge Arena for the first time Thursday to take on the Seattle Kraken at 10 pm ET. If you haven't had the chance to check out the Kraken, this is your chance, as all signs point to this matchup being a good one. Let's take a deeper look.
One of the biggest hockey stories of the year broke Wednesday afternoon when the General Manager of the Anaheim Ducks, Bob Murray, resigned from his position. Murray stepped down a day after being placed on administrative leave by the organization due to an investigation into his workplace conduct. What does this mean for the Ducks Thursday night?
Tonight's game allows Anaheim to get back to business in a sense. The Ducks have gotten off to a red hot 7-4-3 start and have won five in a row entering Thursday. Ryan Getzlaf's team has been one of the few pleasant surprises thus far.
The Ducks offense is one no goalie wants to cross this year, scoring at least three goals per game dating back to October 15th. Led by breakout star Troy Terry, who has scored nine goals in 13 games, Anaheim has hit the over three times in their past five games, and we're banking on them to do it again Thursday.
While Seattle leads the NHL in the fewest shots allowed, giving up just 25.6 a game, their goaltending and defensive efforts have been subpar. They have given up 44 goals in just 13 games played. Seattle's offense, on the other hand, hasn't been too shabby.
Jordan Eberle scored his seventh of the season Tuesday night. The former Oiler has the hot hand for Seattle scoring five goals in his past three games. Paying off at better than 2-to-1, we're backing Eberle to find the back of the net once again. Expect a high-scoring clash out west that's going to need a little more than 60-minutes in a game Anaheim looks good as a dog.
THE PICKS: Ducks Moneyline (+146) | Total Goals: Over 5.5 (+104) | Will there be overtime? Yes (+310), Jordan Eberle Over 0.5 Goals (+225)
