NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Ducks vs. Red Wings Pick, Best Bet (October 23)

Ducks vs. Red Wings Odds

On Sunday evening, the Atlantic Division's Detroit Red Wings host the Pacific Division's Anaheim Ducks. Each of the two meetings between these teams last season went to overtime.

Will we get another tightly-contested affair?

Klingberg Should Be Hungry for Ducks as Audition Year Continues

The Ducks enter this contest in poor form after dropping four straight games. Granted, this has been a very long road trip for a Ducks team that is playing their fifth straight away from the Honda Center.

A big acquisition for this young Anaheim team over the off-season was defenseman John Klingberg. Serving as a big piece of the Dallas Stars' blue line last season, Klingberg posted 47 points over 74 games while averaging 1.88 shots per game.

On Anaheim, Klingberg has seen an increased role as he is on the second defensive pairing alongside Dmitry Kulikov and the first power play unit. Keeping busy with his new team, he has logged at least 21 minutes of ice time in all five games thus far.

It is an audition year for Klingberg as he signed a one-year, seven-million dollar contract this off-season in an attempt to lure teams to sign him long-term once the year ends. With this in mind, we should expect him to be hungry on the ice and particularly aggressive in the offensive zone as he tries to earn a long-term contract.

Red Wings' Struggles Largely Centered on Defense

Like Anaheim, the Detroit Red Wings enter this contest amid a losing streak, as they have lost two-straight overtime games against the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks. A big part of these losses has been Detroit's awful defense play.

At 5v5 this season, the Red Wings rank 28th in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60). Not only is this team allowing high-quality shots, but they are surrendering a large quantity of them as well.

Entering this game, Detroit ranks 22nd in the league in shots on goal (SOG) allowed per game at 33.3. They have particularly been surrendering a good amount of SOG to opposing defensemen.

Through four games this season, this group has given up five SOG to Jack Johnson (CHI), three SOG to Drew Doughty (LAK), four SOG to Dougie Hamilton (NJD), and four SOG to Jordan Harris (MTL).

Ducks vs. Red Wings Pick

Keeping this play simple, we are going to back John Klingberg to record just two SOG in this contest. He has gone over the 1.5 mark in each of his last four games and should be a safe bet to do so once again.

Klingberg is going to remain aggressive offensively all season as he tries to earn a big ticket, while the Red Wings' defense has struggled out of the gates. Drew Doughty and Dougie Hamilton play similar roles for their teams as Klingberg does for Anaheim, and both of those guys recorded three or more SOG against Detroit.

Entering this game, Klingberg has now recorded at least two SOG in 10 of his last 11 games against the Red Wings.

Pick: John Klingberg Over 1.5 Shots on Goal (-148) | Play up to (-160)