The Colorado Avalanche (51-14-6) keep rollin’ with the checkpoint in facing the Edmonton Oilers (42-25-5) Saturday at Rogers Place. Puck drop is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we look at the Avalanche vs. Oilers odds and lines, and make our expert NHL picks, predictions and bets.
Colorado’s depth has been impressive, and the entire league should be on notice. The Avs are 8-1-1 in their last 10. They’re doing it without two of their best players in LW Gabriel Landeskog and C Nazem Kadri. After getting down to the Winnipeg Jets early last night, they throttled them 5-4 in overtime.
Edmonton is just as hot going 7-2-1 over the last 10. They have won six in a row and have really turned their season around after firing their coach two games after the All-Star break. C Leon Draisaitl returned to action Thursday in a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Avalanche at Oilers odds, spread and lines
- Money line: Avalanche -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Oilers +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Avalanche -1.5 (+185) | Oilers +1.5 (-260)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Avalanche at Oilers projected goalies
Darcy Kuemper (33-9-3, 2.40 GAA, .925 SV%, 5 SO) vs. Mike Smith (11-9-2, 3.19 GAA, .903 SV%)
Kuemper has three strong wins in a row; two against the Pittsburgh Penguins and one against the Calgary Flames. He faced more than 40 shots in each and only allowed 6 combined goals. He was between the pipes for the Avs’ 3-2 overtime win against the Oilers last month, stopping 23 of 25 shots.
Smith was really good on the West coast swing going 3-0 with 93 saves on 97 shots. He also was in goal for the 3-2 overtime loss to Colorado last month when he stopped 28 of 31 shots that came his way.
Money line
We’re going to fade the Avs here. They have been playing without two of their best players for a few weeks now with some consistent formulas. They get down early, fight back and eventually triumph with the amount of talent they have. They did just that against Winnipeg yesterday.
However, they’re on the road in a game against a high-flying offense on back-to-back nights. Oilers stud C Connor McDavid has firmly placed his name in the running for Hart Trophy with 14 goals and 19 assists in the last 19 games. Take the even money with the OILERS (+100), as it has already started regressing this morning.
Against the spread
Don’t waste your time here. We’re going against the grain with Edmonton in a mini-upset, and there’s no value on the puck line if they don’t pull it off. PASS.
Over/Under
The last meeting went under at 3-2, but this one feels like it may be a 6-5 kind of affair. The Avs average 3.7 goals in the last 10, and Edmonton has averaged 4.2. Don’t be surprised if the juice starts to trickle into the OVER 6.5 (-110), which we’re leaning toward.