The Colorado Avalanche are the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup this year, and it’s hard to blame the bettors. Colorado has the young talent, strong veteran core and offensive scoring punch to make a deep run in the postseason. This season will be all about whether they can take the next step defensively, and the St. Louis Blues will be a great early test to see the strides Colorado has made in that area.
The NHL betting sites in New Jersey have very little confidence in the Blues against Colorado this season, and I do not blame them. St. Louis struggled in the bubble last year and now there have been several key changes for the Blues on the ice. Colorado will look like a better team early due to their familiarity with the scheme and playing with each other that St. Louis will need to learn by playing. Despite the lack of fans, Colorado will be ready to go to start the season with so many high expectations. COLORADO TO SCORE FIRST Last we saw the Avalanche, they were tearing up the NHL in the Edmonton bubble with their offense. Colorado scored four or more goals in eight of its 15 playoff games and scored three goals in four other games. The Avs averaged 3.6 goals per game at Ball Arena last season and scored 12 goals in two games against the Blues in Denver last year. It’s a risk for my NHL predictions, but it makes sense given the depth of scoring across Colorado’s lineup. COLORADO OVER 3.5 GOALS It’s always a risk to bet the puck line over the moneyline, especially since the games with St. Louis over the last two seasons had been close. However, the Blues’ goaltending was a big issue in the playoffs last year and I’m not convinced Jordan Binnington is going to regain the form he had in leading the Blues to the Stanley Cup in 2019. Colorado has scoring up and down the lineup, and last season’s exit left a bitter taste in their mouth. I expect the Avalanche to send an early message. COLORADO AVALANCHE -1.5 GOALS
Head to Head This will be the first of eight meetings this season between these two teams due to the new divisional alignments forced by the shortened season and pandemic restrictions. Stats Colorado won three of the five matchups with St. Louis last season. The Avalanche and Blues split the four regular-season meetings with all four home teams holding serve, but Colorado won the seeding game between the two teams in the Edmonton bubble. St. Louis leads the overall series 70-56-11 with seven ties. Prior to getting swept in Denver last season, the Blues had won seven of their previous nine games at the Ball Arena. Colorado is 67-34-14 at home over the last three seasons. St. Louis is 50-40-18 on the road over the last three seasons. The Avalanche have won four straight season openers and this is their third straight year opening up at home. The Blues have lost their last two season openers and this is the third time in the last five years they have opened on the road.
Colorado Avalanche to win The Avalanche enter this season as a team of destiny and they somehow continue to make their team even better. St. Louis exited last season with a whimper and have a few new pieces to fit into their lineup while Colorado is a well-oiled machine of returning veterans. It should be a comfortable win for the hosts to open the 2021 campaign.
