After losing two of the best players in franchise history this offseason to free agency, it’s probably going to be a long season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They are off to a slow start but will be NHL betting favorites Friday as the Anaheim Ducks make their only visit of the year.

How to Bet Ducks vs Blue Jackets NHL Hockey Odds & TV Info

• When: Friday, 7 PM ET
• Where: Nationwide Arena
• TV: NHL Network
• Live Stream: NHL.tv
• Radio: SiriusXM
• Opening NHL Lines: Columbus Blue Jackets -1.5 (Total 5.5)

Last Season

Anaheim won both games vs. Columbus in 2018-19 in overtime. The on in Columbus was 2-1. Adam Henrique won a faceoff in the Ducks offensive zone before skating in to screen goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, allowing Daniel Sprong to move above the right circle and snap a shot to the top corner of the net 1:19 into the extra period. John Gibson stopped 36 shots for Anaheim in a tight, high-energy game played mostly in Columbus’ offensive zone. Bobrovsky had 20 saves for Columbus; he’s now with Florida.

Why Bet on Anaheim?

The Ducks will be at a bit of a disadvantage as they will be in the second of a back-to-back after visiting Pittsburgh on Thursday.

“If we just continue to play the same way we’re playing, it doesn’t really matter if we’re at home or on the road,” said Ducks defenseman Brendan Guhle. “We can bring a lot of the same things [we did] at home. Pace and quickness. We can bring that on the road with us tonight. That’ll be the key to getting a win in the first game of this four-game trip.”

It’s too early to draw any lasting conclusions about the Ducks, but their strong start has been one of the big surprises in the first week of the NHL season. The Ducks, who missed the playoffs last season, are playing with more pace than they have in previous years.

John Gibson is off to strong start in net but almost surely won’t play both ends of the B2B as he played in Pittsburgh as it’s his hometown. So it probably will be Ryan Miller here. Miller missing the end of 2018-19 might have ultimately pushed him to return for the 2019-20 campaign. He missed the final 24 games of the season and he admitted that it’s possible he would have felt differently about retirement had that not happened. Miller had a 2.76 GAA last year.

So Far

Earlier this week, the Ducks called up Max Comtois from the AHL and place Sam Steel on the injured list. Steel, 21, was injured during training camp but appeared in the Ducks’ season-opening victory over the Arizona Coyotes. He was scratched from their next game with an injury similar to his earlier ailment and also didn’t play vs. Pittsburgh.

Comtois had two goals and five assists in 10 games last season with the Ducks, plus one goal in four games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls and 31 goals and 17 assists in 25 games with Drummondville of the QMJHL.

Ryan Getzlaf played his 988th game as a Duck on Thursday, tying Corey Perry for the most games played in their history.

Team Stats

• Goals: 2.67
• Shots: 30.33
• PP/PK Percentage: 0.00

Defense

• Goals: 1.00
• Shots: 33.67
• PP/PK Percentage: 0.00

Why Bet on Columbus?

It’s the front end of a back-to-back for Columbus as it visits Carolina on Saturday.

Columbus has been off since ending a two-game skid Monday to start the season with a 4-3 overtime home win over a very good Buffalo team. The Blue Jackets largely shut down a Sabres offense that had been rampant through the first two games while also putting 44 shots on goal, the team’s most since March 2018.

Alexandre Texier scored the overtime winner. Texier helped set up Nick Foligno’s go-ahead goal (3-2) on the power play in the third period and he ended the extra frame at the 2:08 mark. He finished the night with a plus-2 rating, three shots on goal and one hit in 18:08 of ice time. The 20-year-old now has two points in three games this season. Three of the Blue Jackets rookies — Texier, Emil Bemstrom and Vladislav Gavrikov — played their best games of the season in the win over the Sabres.

Foligno picked up a goal and an assist. Foligno’s power-play goal in the third period gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining in regulation. The 31-year-old is up to one goal and three points in three games. Cam Atkinson had a power-play goal, his second goal of the year. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his first goal of the year. Joonas Korpisalo turned aside 15 of 18 shots. The 25-year-old owns a 1-1-0 record with a 3.45 goals-against-average and a .851 save percentage this season.

Injuries

Winger Josh Anderson has been ruled out for Friday’s game against Anaheim. Anderson missed Monday’s game against Buffalo due to an upper-body injury and he isn’t ready to return yet. He is day-to-day. The Blue Jackets are 4-0-1 in the last four games vs. Anaheim in Nationwide Arena. Pierre-Luc Dubois had two goals in two games last year vs. the Ducks.

Team Stats

• Goals: 2.33
• Shots: 34.33
• PP/PK Percentage: 33.33

• Goals: 4.67
• Shots: 29.00
• PP/PK Percentage: 38.46

Ducks vs Blue Jackets NHL Week 2 Betting Trends

• Home team is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings
• Under is 5-2 in Blue Jackets last 7 vs. Western Conference
• Ducks are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against an opponent in the East conference
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim’s last 5 games played in October
• Blue Jackets are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games played on a Friday
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Columbus’ last 5 games at home

Expert Final Score Prediction for Ducks vs Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets 3, Ducks 2