Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild Prediction, Preview, and Odds

We have a Central Division matchup on Friday night as the Colorado Avalanche head to the Xcel Energy Center to take on the Minnesota Wild. The Avalanche (12-6-0, 24 points) are second in the division and are coming off Wednesday’s 5-2 home win over the Vancouver Canucks. The Wild (5-8-4, 14 points) are seventh in the division and are on a five-game losing streak after a 4-3 overtime loss on Sunday in the NHL Global Series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. This is the first of four games against one another so this game will be the tone-setter. 

Avalanche Rolling Through

The Colorado Avalanche have been playing incredibly well so far this season. Defenseman Cale Makar has played incredibly well as he has 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) and has recorded 13 points in his last five games. As a team, they are an amazing offensive team as they are second in all of hockey with 70 total goals scored. However, they have been less than league average on the power play as they are 14-of-71 (19.72 percent) so far this season. 

Alexandar Georgiev is expected to be in the net for the Colorado Avalanche for this game. He has played decently well as he is 11-5-0 inside of the net with 3.01 goals allowed per game and a .891 save percentage. He played well in his most recent game against the Vancouver Canucks as he allowed two goals on 29 shots in a win. As a whole, the defense is 12th in the NHL with 55 total goals allowed thus far. They are one of the best in terms of killing penalties as they have killed 62-of-71 (87.32) percent of opposing power plays. 

Injury Report for Colorado

Right winger Logan O’Connor: Lower Body (Questionable)

Defenseman Samuel Girard: Personal (Questionable)

Left winger Artturi Lehkonen: Neck (OUT)

Goalie Pavel Francouz: Groin (OUT)

Right winger Chris Wagner: Achilles (OUT)

Left winger Gabriel Landeskog: Knee (OUT)

Nothing Mini in Minnesota

The Minnesota Wild are trying to get back on the winning track. Right winger Mats Zuccarello is leading the team as he has recorded 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) and posted six points in his last four games played. In his last game against the Maple Leafs, he had a goal and an assist on four shots in 19:00 on the ice. As a team, they are struggling to score as they are 23rd in the NHL with 54 total goals. They are less than league average on the power play as they scored on 10-of-64 (15.63 percent) of them thus far. 

Marc-Andre Fleury has struggled a bit so far this season and is expected to be in the net for this game. He currently is 3-4-2 with a .875 save percentage and 3.46 goals allowed per game. He struggled last time out against the Maple Leafs as he gave up four goals on 25 shot attempts in a losing effort. The team has been doing extremely poorly as they are 27th in hockey with 70 total goals allowed. The Wild are brutal defensively as they killed 38-of-58 (65.52 percent) of the power play opportunities against them so far this season.

Injury Report for Minnesota

Defenseman Alex Goligoski: Lower Body (OUT)

Best Bets

Full-Game Side Bet

Rating:

There is a reason why Colorado is far and away the best team on the ice here. There is more than a 20-point difference in the penalty kill so that’s also a major factor into the Avs being the better team. The difference offensively as of late has shown a large difference as the Avs are averaging 5.4 goals in their previous five games while the Wild are scoring 2.0 goals in that same five-game stretch. All in all, go with the Colorado Avalanche to win on the road in this game. 

Prediction: Colorado Avalanche -134

Full-Game Total Pick

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These defenses lately are not getting enough stops as Colorado is allowing three goals in their previous games while Minnesota is giving up 4.2 goals in their last five games. Both offenses get shots up at the net consistently as the Avalanche are third with 33.5 shot attempts per game while the Wild are 17th with 30.9 shots per game. The over has hit in the last four Wild games vs teams with a .600+ winning percentage as well as being 8-0-1 in the previous nine Avalanche games so go with OVER 6.5 GOALS here as well. 

Prediction: Over 6.5

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