One Play For NHL's Frozen Frenzy

Ducks vs. Blue Jackets, 6:30 ET

I haven't posted too many NHL plays to start this year - baseball is still going on, college football is in full swing, and, of course, the NFL is king of sports betting. But, there is money to be made on the ice and we are 3-0 on NHL plays to start the young season. Now we look to go 4-0 to start the year as we take a look at the matchup between the Ducks and the Blue Jackets.

Yesterday, the NHL had exactly one game. One. Tonight, 16 games. That means all teams are in action tonight as the NHL has something they call the Frozen Frenzy. Apparently, all games will be televised in a Redzone fashion, so I'm kind of excited about seeing how this works out. This probably isn't the most popular or exciting game, as it features the Ducks, one of the worst teams in the NHL, but there is money to be made. Anaheim is just 1-4 on the early season and has scored five goals in their four losses. In their one win, they scored six goals. It isn't like they've been blown out in their losses, they've allowed four, three, two, and three goals in the losses. So, despite not being blown out, they aren't collecting points either since the game isn't going to overtime. The expectation at this moment is that John Gibson will be in net for the Ducks. He has had a rough season to start - three losses and a 3.06 goals against per game average.

Anaheim Ducks netminder John Gibson.(Credit: Screenshot/Instagram Anaheim Ducks @anaheimducks)

The Blue Jackets are having a slightly better start to the season, but are just 3-2 on the year. They seem to play with a bit faster pace than the Ducks, but they also have struggled on defense. They are allowing opponents to score over three goals per game on average. This could be a good game for the Ducks to get their offense rolling a bit. With the way the Blue Jackets play, I'm expecting a lot of shots on the goalies. I think that the Blue Jackets will have an edge in Power Play situations. I'd be a bit surprised if they lost this game. To mind their net, I expect them to have Elvis Merzlikins start the game. So far this season, Merzlikins is 2-1 with a solid 2.61 goals against per game average. He has only allowed seven goals this year in the three games he has played, but he can be beat and is coming off of his worst game of the year - he allowed four goals in the game against the Wild.

I think this is a game that will see some goals. The way the Blue Jackets play on offense they seem to get a lot of shots on the net. The Ducks have actually been pretty good about keeping the score low, but I expect the pace to be a bit quicker than they are used to and they will need to play aggressive in order to keep up with Columbus. I'm going to take the over 6.5 in this game. The Ducks should get to at least three goals and I expect them to surrender at least three. If they both get to three, we cash this one. Take the over and enjoy all of the NHL games today.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024