The Colorado Avalanche were two very different teams in the first two games of the season, and the real story is somewhere in the middle. But when your ceiling is an 8-0 win over a team that won the Stanley Cup two seasons ago, that’s a powerful team. The Los Angeles Kings blew a two-goal lead in both of their first two games, which is not a great recipe against the high-powered Avalanche attack.
Andre Burakovsky is the only Avalanche player to score in both games of the season. He plays on the power play, he’s a top-six forward and he leads the team with three points on nine Colorado goals this season. The NHL betting sites in New Jersey are doing us a favor by making him +230 odds to score in a third straight game. The Kings are not as strong defensively after their top pairing and that is something the Avalanche will exploit with their scoring depth across all four lines. Burakovsky continues his hot streak by scoring for the third time in three games. ANDRE BURAKOVSKY TO SCORE The Avalanche have already earned 11 power plays through two games and they have scored on six of them. It’s clear they cannot maintain a 50-percent clip all season long, but they could easily score once or twice on the man advantage against a Kings squad that has already been on the kill nine times in two games. Los Angeles was far weaker defensively in the second game against Minnesota and allowed 44 shots, which is way too many to allow to a dangerous team like Colorado. As good as Jonathan Quick can be for the Kings in goal, he still has an .887 save percentage behind a shaky corps of defensemen. Colorado should have a field day with its explosive offense. COLORADO OVER 4.5 GOALS I will give the Kings credit for scoring three times in both of their first two games as their experienced forwards have stepped up. But the Avalanche present a new array of challenges and the New Jersey sports betting sites know it. The Avalanche are stronger defensively with their young, talented corps on the blue line and they have been so good at possessing the puck with their forwards. It will be a struggle for Los Angeles to possess the puck and put shots on Colorado’s goal while the Avalanche spend a lot of time in the offensive zone. The hockey betting sites in New Jersey are giving +210 odds on a big Colorado victory, and I’m hopping aboard for the first of two between this pair. COLORADO AVALANCHE -2.5 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 Los Angeles won two of the three meetings last season and has won eight of the last 12 games between the two clubs. Dating back to the Avalanche’s time in Quebec City, the Kings hold a 72-57 lead in the series with eight ties. Almost two-thirds of Los Angeles’ wins last season came at home after having the worst home record in the league during the 2018-19 season. The Kings had nearly identical 4-3 losses last week to Minnesota to begin the season. In both games, Los Angeles entered the third period with a 3-1 lead, were forced into overtime than allowed the winner with less than 90 seconds left in overtime. The Avalanche split their two games with St. Louis last week and are on the road for the first time this season. Colorado has won its first road game in four of the last five seasons.
Colorado Avalanche to win The blown leads are a concern for the Kings as they welcome in the offensively-loaded Avalanche. Colorado came alive with eight goals in the second game of the season after struggling in the opener to develop offense. That shouldn’t be an issue Tuesday as the Avalanche cruise to victory over a defensively-challenged Kings squad.
