The Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues were neck-and-neck in the Central Division for much of the season, but those 70 games don’t count now. The Blues technically finished two points ahead of the Avalanche, but also played one more game before the pandemic hit and the season was paused. They meet Monday in the first game of the round-robin knowing the result will dictate a lot about how the seeding will play out in the Western Conference.
These bets are always a gamble because a single goal could really come from anywhere, but Gabriel Landeskog was playing some of his best hockey before the pandemic. He had four multi-point games in the final five before the season was paused, so he was seemingly always around the action when Colorado scored. So it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if the Swedish winger to score the first goal of the NHL playoffs for the Avalanche. GABRIEL LANDESKOG TO SCORE FIRST (+1600) Both the Avalanche and Blues were in the top-six in the league in terms of goals allowed this season, but that went out the window when these two teams faced off. Three of their four matchups this season featured at least seven goals, so it’s best to get exotic and go above even the standard 5.5 goals the NHL betting sites in New Jersey set as the over/under for this game. OVER 6.5 GOALS (+143) Let’s stick with the goal-scoring theme and figure out which team will light the lamp first Sunday. The Avalanche scored first in 43 of 70 games this season and led the league with 73 first-period goals. Colorado also plays a more free-flowing style of game, a component in why the Avalanche have a league-best +45 goal differential in 5-v-5 play. The Blues actually rank fourth in that statistic with a +34 differential, but they don’t start games as quickly as Colorado has this season. COLOARADO AVALANCHE TO SCORE FIRST GOAL (-113) The Avalanche are one-goal favorites in this game, which means it makes more sense to pick them on the puckline as opposed to the moneyline. You get better odds by taking them minus a goal, and if they win, the worse you can do is get your money back if they only win by one. Colorado’s scoring prowess makes them a dangerous team in this round-robin format, and St. Louis is far better set up for success in a longer series than a one-off game. COLORADO AVALANCHE TO WIN AGAINST THE PUCKLINE (+163)
Head to Head This will be the fifth meeting between these two teams this season with the home team winning the previous four rather comfortably. The average margin of victory in the four games has been nearly three goals. Stats Louis is 3-3-0 all-time at Rogers Place. Colorado sports a 2-2-1 record in Edmonton’s new arena. Since Craig Berube was installed as the team’s head coach in November 2018, the Blues are 96-48-16, including the postseason. The Avalanche are the youngest team in the NHL at an average age of 27.7 for their starting 18 skaters and two goalies. Nathan McKinnon was one of three players to finish in the top-10 in goals, assists and points this season with 35 goals (9th), 58 assists (4th) and 93 points (5th).
Colorado Avalanche to win The Avalanche are as healthy as they’ve been all season thanks to the pause in the season, and they’ll come out rolling in the first game of the round-robin. Colorado’s firepower proves to be too much for the Blues’ defense and St. Louis can’t keep up offensively.
