Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 20th 2024

Stadium: Honda Center Anaheim
Logo Colorado Avalanche
VS
Logo Anaheim Ducks
0
OPENER
6.5
-1.5 +119
CURRENT
6.5o -105
-199
MONEYLINE
+177
4
SCORE
2

Preview and Prediction

The Anaheim Ducks will welcome the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, as both teams are coming off impressive third-period comebacks.

The Avalanche found themselves down 2-1 against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, but they managed to turn things around with three unanswered goals in the final period to secure a 4-2 victory.

Mikko Rantanen scored on the power play to tie the game at 2-2, and Joel Kiviranta added two more goals to give Colorado the lead. This was only the third time this season that the Avalanche have managed to win a game when trailing after two periods.

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Despite the deficit, Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood said there was no sense of panic among his teammates during the second intermission.

"They remained calm and composed in the third period," said Blackwood, who made 32 saves. "They knew what they had to do and executed it perfectly. It's great to see that kind of character from our team."

The Anaheim Ducks have also relied on late-game heroics in their recent two-game winning streak. In both games, they were trailing with less than five minutes left in the third period before coming back to win.

On Saturday, Jackson LaCombe's goal in the final minutes paved the way for an overtime victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. And on Wednesday, the Ducks managed to overcome a 2-1 deficit against the Winnipeg Jets, with Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry scoring the game-tying and game-winning goals, respectively.

Terry credited their success to taking advantage of the Jets' fatigue, as they were playing their second game in as many nights.

"We were able to capitalize on their tiredness," Terry said. "We had a few days to rest and recover, so we were fresh and ready to go. We know how tough it can be to play back-to-back games, so we took advantage of that."

In contrast, the Avalanche have struggled in the second game of back-to-backs this season, with a record of 1-2-0.

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Terry and Vatrano have been leading the way for the Ducks in their recent success, with a combined 17 points in their last eight games. On the other side, Nathan MacKinnon continues to lead the NHL in points and assists, with 52 and 39 respectively.

Rantanen, who scored the game-tying goal against the Sharks, leads the Avalanche with 19 goals this season and has been on a hot streak with 13 points in his last seven games.

In net, Scott Wedgewood is expected to start for the Avalanche on Friday, while John Gibson is likely to start for the Ducks. Both teams have struggled on the penalty kill this season, but the Avalanche have shown improvement in their last seven games, only allowing one goal on the power play.

The Avalanche have dominated the Ducks in recent years, with a record of 13-1-2 in their last 16 games against Anaheim. This includes a 4-3 overtime victory in their last meeting on October 18th.

PREDICTION
Colorado Avalanche
4
2
Anaheim Ducks

Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks Recap DEC 20TH 2024

Nathan MacKinnon had two assists and an empty-net goal in the Colorado Avalanche's 4-2 road win over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.

The Avalanche have won their last two games, while the loss ended Anaheim's own two-game win streak.

Valeri Nichushkin and Cale Makar each had a goal and an assist, and Mikko Rantanen had two assists.

Parker Kelly's short-handed goal highlighted another strong performance for Colorado's streaking penalty-kill unit. The Avalanche were 5-for-5 on the kill Friday, and are 21-for-22 in killing penalties over their last eight games.

It was the seventh time this season MacKinnon has recorded at least three points in a game. MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (55) and assists (41).

Scott Wedgewood stopped 30 of 32 shots. The goalie is 4-2-0 with a sterling .932 save percentage for Colorado since being acquired in a Nov. 30 trade with the Nashville Predators.

Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks. John Gibson stopped 19 of 22 shots, including a save on a Samuel Girard penalty shot late in the third period.

Carlsson opened the scoring with a tip-in goal 2:40 into the second period. Carlsson ended a five-game points drought by expertly re-directing a Jacob Trouba point shot into Colorado's net.

The Ducks looked to extend their lead during a power play four minutes later, but it was Kelly who found the net on a short-handed goal. A slip from Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger in the neutral zone resulted in a 2-on-1 rush for Kelly and Logan O'Connor, with Kelly delivering the equalizer.

Colorado took the lead 10:57 into the second period. Gibson partially blocked Makar's initial shot but the puck trickled past Gibson into the crease, and Nichushkin was in position to deposit the loose puck.

Makar added a power-play tally at 3:30 of the third period. Makar leads all NHL defensemen with 42 points (10 goals, 32 assists).

Killorn scored at 13:05 of the third period, but MacKinnon sealed Colorado's win with an empty-netter with 81 seconds remaining in regulation.