Southern California has been blanketed by an Arctic chill for the last few days and I'm not just talking about the weather. The ice cold New York Islanders limp into the Honda Center tonight in hopes of ending a seven game (0-5-2) winless streak.
ISLANDERS (8-17-5) at DUCKS (20-7-5)
This will be the first meeting between the Anaheim Ducks and New York Islanders in nearly two years. In the last meeting the Ducks used three third period goals to steal a 4-2 win. That game is irrelevant today and is only good for historical purposes.
This could one of those pesky trap games for the Ducks. Ryan Getzlaf and company have yet to lose in regulation at home (10-0-2) and are riding the high of back-to-back victories over Chicago and St. Louis, two of the Wests best clubs.
The Islanders, on the other hand, were blanked by the Kings on Saturday night, stretching their road losing streak to nine games.
I hate games like this because it would appear on paper to be a cakewalk for the Duckies. Anaheim is statistically superior to the Islanders and one could argue play in a much tougher conference.
Well, they don't play the game on paper...But, let's look at some numbers anyway.
- The Ducks have a 9-5-2 record against the Eastern Conference and are 4-1-2 versus Metro Division opponents.
New York is 3-6-1 against the West and 2-2-1 versus the Pacific.
- Anaheim averages almost four goals a game at home! The Ducks have scored 46 of their 101 total goals at the Honda Center in only 12 games.
The Islanders average a hair over two goals a game on the road.
- The Ducks have only given up four power play goals at home.
The Islander are being outscored 16-4 on the power play on the road.
Anyway, you catch my drift. Anaheim should win tonight. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Before I go....
Tonight's game is the first of three at home for Anaheim. The Ducks have played a league-low 12 games at home compared to a league-high 20 games on the road. The fact that Anaheim has been this good in spite of all the injuries and heavy road schedule is setting the team up for a heck of a finish.
By the end of December the Ducks will have played 25 games on the road. That means from January to April they will only have 16 games away from Honda Center. That weighs heavily in their favor when it comes to playoff seeding and winning the Pacific.
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