Senators vs Canucks Picks – Canucks Finally Back Home
The Vancouver Canucks have been on a month-long 14-game road trip but now it’s finally over. Online betting fans will see them back at home on Saturday night as they host the Ottawa Senators. As most teams do, expect them to be a big sluggish in their first home game after such a long road trip.
Senators vs Canucks Picks: Senators Will Surprise Canucks
- Canucks finished 14-game road trip 8-5-1
- Canucks 4-1-2 in last seven
- Senators have just seven goals in five games since Olympic break
The Canucks had a very successful road trip and while many sportsbook minds felt that being away from home for more than a month (because of the Winter Olympics) would be a huge detriment, it turned out just fine as they won eight games.
Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators have struggled a little bit since the Olympic break and have fallen out of first place in the Northeast Division.
They have been bitten by the flu bug but the real issue has been the fact that the Senators have had trouble scoring of late. In their first three games since the Olympic break, they managed just three goals before a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. They then followed it up with a shutout loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday and have cleared had trouble finding the back of the net.
That’s really been the main culprit for Ottawa’s recent slide as the other aspects of the team are playing well. The Senators are getting very good goaltending right now as Pascal Leclaire had a great game against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Saturday – possibly his best of the year – and Brian Elliott came in on Tuesday and got his 13th win in his last 16 starts. He’s also only given up just 22 goals in his last 13 games. Overall, the Sens have given up five goals in their last three games
The Canucks are back home and they are somewhat hot heading into this game. After struggling to start the road trip, NHL betting fans saw the Canucks reel off a 4-1-2 stretch heading into this game.
The trip took them over 43,500 miles and 43 days of absence from their cozy confines. The good news is now they finish up with home games in 10 of their last 15 games. The road trip has helped them in a big way, especially with their scoring lines.
Early in the trip, the Sedin line was struggling, so the Ryan Kesler line picked up the slack. Then late Mikael Samuelsson got hot and carried some of the load as well. After the Olympic break, Pavol Demitra has woken up with five points in six games and has moved up to the second line.
A lot of things are going well for the Canucks right now but the main issue will be the fact that they are back home their record-setting road trip. The Canucks will be fatigued after such a long time away from home and the pesky Senators will take advantage. Ottawa is an underrated squad and their defense should be tailored to slow a team like the Canucks.
