Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Prediction, Preview, and Odds

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It’s a battle of Central Division teams on the ice when a pair of teams do battle in search of two points in the Gateway City. The Colorado Avalanche are on the road as they make the trip to face the St. Louis Blues Saturday afternoon. Colorado comes in off a 3-2 road win over Minnesota in their previous contest Wednesday night. St. Louis earned a 4-2 home victory over New Jersey in their most recent game Thursday night. In the last 10 meetings between the teams, the Avalanche own a 7-2-1 advantage and have taken two of the three meetings this season. That includes a 4-2 home win in the most recent matchup on January 28.

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Colorado Avalanche Seek Third Straight Win Over Blues This Season

Colorado was just 1-1-2 in their previous four games but managed to come up with the victory on the road over Minnesota their last time out. The Avalanche entered Friday 29-19-5 and stood third in the Central Division, eight points behind Dallas for the top spot. They held a two-point edge over Minnesota for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the division. Colorado comes into this one tied for 21 in the league in goals per game as they average three goals a night. The Avalanche are tied for 9 in goals against as they allow an average of 2.76 goals a contest. Colorado is 10 in the league with the man advantage as they convert 23.4% of their chances with the man advantage. The Avalanche are tied for 19 in penalty killing as they successfully get through 77% of their shorthanded situations on the year.

Against Minnesota, Colorado did just enough offensively to pull out a road victory over a Wild team that has struggled to dent the twine lately. The Avalanche were outshot by a 17-6 margin in the opening period and took a 1-0 lead to the dressing room after the opening 20 minutes of play. Andrew Cogliano opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season at 15:14 off assists from Devon Toews and Samuel Girard. The second period saw Colorado outshot 13-4 but they outscored Minnesota 2-1 to take a 3-1 lead to the second intermission. Denis Malgin gave the Avalanche a 2-0 lead with his fourth goal of the season at 2:20 off assists from Nathan MacKinnon and Josh Manson. After the Wild trimmed the lead to a single goal, MacKinnon tallied his 18 goal of the year at 16:29 off assists from Artturi Lehkonen and Toews for a 3-1 advantage. In the third period, Colorado was outshot 13-9 and outscored 1-0 yet managed to hang on for the victory. Alexandar Georgiev made 41 saves for the Avalanche, who were outshot 43-19, in the victory. He is expected to be between the pipes again for this contest.

St. Louis Blues Try to Extend Win Streak

St. Louis earned a third straight win as they doubled up New Jersey at home Thursday night. The Blues entered Friday 26-25-3, leaving them sixth in the Central Division, 16 points behind Dallas for the top spot and eight behind Colorado for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the division. They stood six points behind Minnesota for the final wild card spot. St. Louis is tied for 17 in the league in goals for as they average 3.13 goals a contest this season. The Blues stand 26 in the league in goals against as they allow an average of 3.57 goals a night. St. Louis is 12 in power play success as they cash in on 22.7% of their chances with the man advantage this season. The Blues are a dismal 24 in penalty killing as they successfully navigate 75.9% of their shorthanded situations this year.

Against New Jersey, St. Louis saw their recent offensive resurgence continue while their defensive zone work did enough to secure the win. The opening period saw the Blues outshot by a 16-13 margin but the teams went to the dressing room tied at one after 20 minutes of play. Pavel Buchnevich gave the Blues a 1-0 lead with his 16 goal of the season at 16:32 off assists from Ivan Barbashev and Ryan O’Reilly. They gave up the equalizer just 58 seconds later. In the second period, St. Louis was outshot 13-12 but outscored New Jersey 2-1 to take a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes of play. Alexey Toropchenko gave the Blues a 2-1 lead with his fourth goal of the season at the 4:00 mark with assists going to Nathan Walker and Colton Parayko. Jordan Kyrou made it a 3-1 game with his 25 of the season at 5:35 off assists from Brayden Schenn and Robert Thomas. The Blues gave up a goal less than three minutes later to trim the margin to a single goal. In the third period, St. Louis held a 10-7 edge in shots and scored the lone goal of the period to salt away the win. Schenn closed the scoring with his 16 goal of the season, on the power play, at 11:42 off assists from Kyrou and Robert Thomas. Jordan Binnington made 34 saves for the Blues, who were outshot 36-35, in the win. He is slated to be between the pipes again for this contest.

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St. Louis has won three straight games and scored a total of 16 goals in the process. That kind of production isn’t as likely for them here as the Avalanche has been sound in their own end of the ice, especially when Georgiev is between the pipes. Colorado isn’t the same offensive team that you would expect given their talent but injuries have taken a toll at times. The Avalanche have had good success against the Blues in recent years and took two of the three meetings so far this season. It’s hard to excited about the Blues, even with three straight wins, as they have been miserable keeping the puck out of their own net. Look for Colorado to get sharp goaltending again and that proves to be enough to earn the road victory here.

Prediction: Colorado Avalanche -157

Full-Game Total Pick

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Heading into this game, the Avalanche has seen the under post a 31-19-3 record on the season. Colorado posts an average total of 5.75 goals per game over the course of the season. That number drops down to an average of 5.63 goals per contest on the road. St. Louis enters the game having seen the over post a hefty 32-15-7 record on the year. The Blues have an average total of 6.70 goals per game on the year. That number does decrease slightly, all the way down to 6.67 goals per contest, on home ice this season. The under has gone 3-0-1 in the last four meetings between the teams, including a 2-0-1 mark in their three matchups this season. Georgiev keeps the Blues in check and therefore the Avalanche doesn’t need a big offensive performance. Take this one to stay under the total.

Prediction: Under 6

Chris King has been immersed in the world of professional and collegiate sports for more than three decades. Whether it's playing pickup games or being involved in organized sports to being a fan, he's checked all the boxes. From the NFL to arena football, the NHL to the KHL, the NBA to the WNBA to college hoops, and even MLB to the KBO.  If it's out there, he's covered it and bet on it as well, as Chris has been an expert bettor in his career.  Before joining Winners and Whiners back in 2015, his work appeared around the internet and in print. He's written books for Ruckus Books about college basketball, the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, golf, and the World Cup. If you're looking for the inside track on hitting a winner, do yourself a favor and read what Chris has to say.