Canucks vs. Devils: Best Bets and Preview
By Tyson Cole
A brotherly clash tonight as the New Jersey Devils visit the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena at 7 p.m. Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes face off for the seventh time in their young careers. Tonight’s game will be the first appearance in the Hughes Bowl for the youngest of the three, Luke Hughes.
All three brothers are taking over the league this season, as they are all currently top two or higher favourites in various NHL awards, according to betting odds.
Quinn is the current favourite for the league’s best defenceman award, the Norris Trophy. Jack has the second-best odds for the league’s MVP award, the Hart Trophy. Luke has the second-best odds for the league’s Rookie of the Year award, the Calder Trophy.
Game Preview
The Canucks continued their win-one-game, lose-one-game pattern as they defeated their division-rival Calgary Flames 4-3 on Saturday night. Vancouver looks to snap this pattern, returning to home ice, where they have an 8-2-1 record.
The Devils are coming off their most embarrassing loss on the season, losing 6-3 to the San Jose Sharks. The result was surprising, with the Devils being fully healthy for the first time since the beginning of the season, outside of the Dougie Hamilton injury.
It’s safe to say the Devils have had the Canucks number in the Hughes Bowl. Jack has won five of six head-to-head matchups against his older brother Quinn. Dating back even further, the Devils have won fourteen of their last fifteen games against the Canucks.
When these two teams meet, there is no shortage of goals. Four straight games have seen more than the game total of 6.5 goals. These teams rank in the top six in goals per game, both averaging 3.6+ goals per game.
Coming into tonight’s game, the Canucks have gone over this total in six of their last ten games, and the Devils have gone over in seven of their last ten games.
I’ll be playing the Over 6.5 at (-138) odds.
Player Props
Quinn Hughes Over 2.5 Shots On Goal
Quinn Hughes is automatic for his shots on goal on home ice this season. He’s registered 3+ shots on goal in nine of eleven home games, averaging 3.6 shots on 7.7 shot attempts per game.
The Canuck captain registered five shots in his most recent outing against brother Jack but has failed to have consistent historical shooting success against him.
To begin the season, New Jersey was amongst the top of the league in shots against per game. Recently, they’ve weathered the storm, allowing 27.6 shots over the last twenty days. This number jumps to 32.0 shots against over their last four road games, including a 47-shot game from the Philadelphia Flyers.
Over these four road games, 35% of those shots against New Jersey have come from defencemen. On the season, they allow the fourteenth most shots to the position, averaging 8.1 shots per game.
Jack Hughes Power Play Point
Tonight’s matchup between these teams is a powerplay juggernaut. New Jersey sits atop the league in power play percentage with a 36% success rate. Vancouver, not far behind, sits fourth in the league with a 27.5% success rate.
The Devils’ forward sits one point behind Jesper Bratt in powerplay points in five fewer games this season. The middle Hughes brother has powerplay points in two of his last three games and two straight against Vancouver. Of Jack’s six road games this season, he has registered a point on the powerplay in four games, totalling eight points.
The Canucks average 3.2 powerplay opportunities against per game this season and have a 75% penalty kill rate, ranking in the bottom eight for penalty kill percentage.
Vancouver has been getting exposed shorthanded over their last four games. The penalty kill has a 58% kill rate over that span, allowing five powerplay goals on twelve opportunities. The Devils best powerplay should be able to take advantage of this struggling Canucks penalty kill.
Best Bet Summary:
Vancouver Canucks & New Jersey Devils Over 6.5 (-138) for 1 unit.
Quinn Hughes Over 2.5 Shots On Goal (+100) for 1 unit.
Jack Hughes Powerplay Point (+172) for 0.5 unit.
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Last Game Recap: 1-1 -0.33 units.
All-Time Record: 16-13 +0.65 units.