NHL

NHL Betting Guide: Wednesday 3/8/23

Austin Swaim  —  @ASwaim3 Mar 8th, 2023
Anaheim's Lukas Dostal has been solid in limited action this year, so can we back the lowly Ducks to pull an upset in Vancouver tonight?

Wednesday's three-game slate is a bit tough to look at. Of the six teams in action, four would probably be closer to tanking than trying to win. Of course, today's marquee matchup isn't showing value, either.

We'll hold our noses in the one game showing value and try to make some coin.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All ratings are out of five stars. All NHL betting odds and totals come from FanDuel Sportsbook.

Anaheim Ducks at Vancouver Canucks

Ducks +1.5 (-130) - 2 Stars

These two bad teams aren't separated by a ton -- especially when factoring in the cornerstones set to man the crease.

Admittedly, the Canucks have been the better team for a while here. That's not saying a ton when Anaheim is dead last since February 1st in expected goals-for percentage (38.3 xGF%) at a ridiculously poor mark, but Vancouver still sits at just a 47.3 xGF% rate themselves. That's the 12th-worst mark in the league in that same period.

Regardless of who gets the nod for the Canucks, the Ducks should have the edge in goal, though. Lukas Dostal will get the draw for Anaheim, and he's actually been passable, posting 1.47 goals saved above expectation (GSAx) in 10 appearances this year.

Collin Delia might return from his illness tonight, but at -2.55 GSAx, Vancouver would still be outgunned in goaltending. Things would get even worse for the Canucks if Thatcher Demko (-6.66 GSAx) was forced into a second straight start.

Overall, our model sees the Ducks covering a one-goal spread in this game 61.1% of the time. There's still value here against these 56.5% implied odds.