NHL Hockey Free Pick: Ottawa Senators vs Vancouver Canucks
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Team records:
Ottawa: 37-26-5
Vancouver: 41-23-3
Tonight, 7:05p.m. ET
Sportsbook odds: Senators +155, Canucks -175
The struggling Ottawa Senators pay a visit to the happiest team in the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks, who return to GM Place after the longest road trip in league history. The Sens played very well before the Olympic break and afforded themselves the opportunity to stumble without falling out of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference while the Canucks actually gained ground in the Western Conference while out on the road for what seemed like a year.
The Ottawa Senators are a dismal 1-3-1 since the Olympic break and all of the momentum that they built up prior to the break appears to be gone. Now they will try to salvage a winning Western road trip with a win in Vancouver on Saturday night. They are going to have to score a few goals if they want to defeat the Canucks – something that they haven’t been doing much of lately. In the five games since the Olympic break, the Senators have only scored a total of seven goals.
The things that made the Senators successful during their incredible pre-Olympic run have all but dried up. Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza have been invisible in the last week and a half and the only player that seems to have it going is Milan Michalek who suddenly leads the team in goals. Goaltending has also been a problem for the Senators lately. Both Brian Elliot and Pascal Leclaire have been pulled in the last week due to ineffectiveness. The Senators are not playing good hockey and the possibility of defeating the top tier Canucks on home ice is slim.
Welcome home Canucks! Remember GM Place? After a month and a half and 14 games on the road, Vancouver finally gets to play in front of their passionate home crowd on National TV. They went 8-5-1 on their trip despite Roberto Luongo’s 3.53 goals against average. Trends show that teams often have a hard time in the first game back from a long road trip. It might be the home cooking, the overly comfy bed, or it might be the wife’s needs that make the players less than sharp on the ice. 
But this situation is different – most of the players were home for an extended period of time during the Olympic break and practiced extensively together during that time. The Sedins have remained hot, Alex Burroughs is having a career season, Ryan Kesler is becoming one of the best shut down centers in the NHL, Pavol Demitra is healthy, Michel Sameulsson scored 10 goals on the road trip and Kyle Welwood is in shape!
That’s right -everything is falling into place for the Canucks. About the only issue is the health of Steve Bernier, Willie Mitchell and Kevin Bieksa who are still out due to injury and have no timetable for their return.
The Canucks are hot at home and the Sens are cool on the road. Vancouver would love to send their loyal fans home happy – that’s for sure. The Canucks should win this game easily and reward their fans for their patience and consistent support.
NHL Betting Trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Ottawa’s last 7 games when playing Vancouver
Ottawa is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vancouver’s last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Vancouver’s last 7 games when playing Ottawa
Pick: Vancouver Canucks
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