Nathan MacKinnon will be a game-time decision for the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night as they welcome the Arizona Coyotes to Denver. Colorado has been a bit of a disappointment this season as they have been plagued by inconsistent streaks due to the various injuries throughout the lineup. The Coyotes have not lost more than two games in a row thus far this season, but they have only won consecutive games twice this year. They head to Colorado coming off a win Saturday night as they look to avenge their two home losses a little more than a week ago to the Avalanche.
Brandon Saad enters Monday’s game with goals in consecutive games, and he’s playing a larger offensive role given the injuries to the Avalanche lineup at the moment. He’s built excellent chemistry with his linemates, Tyson Jost and Andre Burakovsky, and the second line has been effective at capitalizing on the matchups they are facing with so much attention paid to the top line. Saad is a streaky player, who scored seven points in a four-game span earlier this year, and registered just three points in the other 15 games prior the series with the Ducks. We found excellent value at some of the hockey betting sites in New Jersey with +290 odds on Saad to score, so he’s worth the risk with so much uncertainty on the top line. BRANDON SAAD SCORES GOAL There’s something about the Coyotes that tends to bring out the best in the Avalanche’s offense. Colorado has scored at least six goals in three of its last four games with the Coyotes, and I expect a similar level of success Monday night. This will be Arizona’s first game of a long road trip and the Avalanche’s offense looked sharp against the Ducks – even if the defense was shaky. Arizona’s defense is worse than Anaheim’s and the Coyotes also arguably have the worse goalie. I’m a fan of the +285 odds on this wager from the NHL betting sites in New Jersey because it’s rare to see such high odds on a goal-scoring bet. Whether or not Nathan MacKinnon rejoins the lineup, I expect the Avalanche to be buzzing and dissecting Arizona’s defense the way they have done for much of the past two seasons. COLORADO AVALANCHE OVER 4.5 GOALS The value isn’t there to bet on Colorado to win, even in regulation, so the best value on betting on the Avalanche to win is to also wager on them scoring the first goal. The Avalanche had scored first in four straight games before surrendering the first goal in both games against Anaheim over the weekend. However, the Coyotes have allowed the first goal eight times in their last nine games and haven’t scored a first-period goal in their last 10 contests. The odds aren’t great at just +100 from the legal sports betting sites in New Jersey, but the Avalanche have proven to be a strong team even without some of their best players on the ice. COLORADO AVALANCHE SCORES FIRST AND WINS
Head to Head This is the third of eight contests on the schedule this season between Colorado and Arizona, and the first one in Denver this season. The Avalanche won both games in Arizona with ease a little more than a week ago. Stats Arizona has allowed at least six goals in three of its last four meetings with Colorado. The Coyotes were eliminated by the Avalanche in the postseason with consecutive 7-1 defeats then lost 6-2 in their last game against Colorado. Only four Colorado players have been able to play in all 22 games so far this season, led by Mikko Rantanen, who leads the team with 24 points evenly split between assists and goals. Of the more than 800 players who have appeared in a game this season, only six have a worse plus/minus than Colorado’s Nazem Kadri’s -13 rating. Conor Garland leads the Coyotes with 22 points and 14 assists this season and trails Christian Dvorak by one goal for the team lead. Arizona has two other players with at least eight goals, Clayton Keller and Phil Kessel.
Colorado Avalanche to win As banged up as the Colorado Avalanche are right now, there is still more than enough talent for them to take care of the Arizona Coyotes. Arizona forced Colorado to overtime in its last two visits to Denver, but this is a much different Avalanche team the Coyotes are facing. This will be Arizona’s second road game in four weeks, so it will be interesting to see how the travel affects the Coyotes as they start on a long road trip. Colorado is settling in for a nice homestand, and that home ice advantage will pay dividends for the Avalanche.
