Avalanche vs Penguins Picks, Predictions, and Odds Tonight

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07 February 2023

Avalanche vs Penguins Picks, Predictions, and Odds Tonight

Colorado's found its footing and is clawing back to a Top 3 spot in the Central Division. Winners of seven of their last eight, the Avalanche are in a great spot to knock off the Penguins tonight — our NHL picks have more.

Photo By - USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins are set to meet for the first time this season, and it is always a fun time watching Sidney Crosby go up against Nathan MacKinnon.

The Penguins had a bit of a disappointing first half of the season, and they might continue to struggle without Tristan Jarry in goal.

The Avalanche enter this game sitting one point outside of a playoff spot, and as every game matters right now for the defending Stanley Cup champions I expect a very strong effort from them tonight.

Find out my best bet in our free NHL betting picks and predictions for Penguins vs. Avalanche on February 7.

Avalanche vs Penguins best odds

Avalanche vs Penguins picks and predictions

The Avalanche have had to face a ton of adversity this season regarding injuries, but they are finally starting to get fully healthy and the results are showing. They went into the All-Star break going 7-3-0 in their last ten games, while the Pens went 4-3-3 in that same span.

Pittsburgh has been uncharacteristically inconsistent this season, even though its roster is very talented. Sidney Crosby has been as good as ever, leading the team with 60 points in 49 games, and as per usual Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel are his running mates.

Offense hasn’t been an issue for Pittsburgh, but its goaltending outside of Tristan Jarry hasn’t been what it needs to be.

Casey DeSmith has started the last three games for the Pens, losing two in a row and allowing a combined 20 goals in those three games. Not exactly the numbers you want to see when you’re playing an opponent like Colorado.

Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar are one of the most dynamic trios in the NHL and they should be able to find some success going up against DeSmith and the Penguins.

Pavel Francouz gives the Avs the edge in goal, with wins in three of his last four starts, a .917 save percentage, and a 2.58 goals against average. I trust Francouz and the Avalanche offense to take over this game.

My best bet: Avalanche moneyline (-110 at BetMGM)

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Avalanche vs Penguins moneyline analysis

There’s no denying that it has been a tough year for the Avalanche, but once they get going they are a very tough team to play against. They started to find their game prior to the break, winning seven out of their last eight games, and they know how important this time of year is standings-wise. They are in the hunt to make the playoffs and they can’t afford to dig themselves in too deep of a hole.

Rantanen, Makar, and MacKinnon are back from All-Star weekend, and boy, are they all having phenomenal seasons, Rantanen especially. These three have really helped Colorado’s offensive production, which has exploded lately with 15 goals in its last five games. I don’t think DeSmith has the answer to solve this group and this Avs team has been solid on the road, skating to a 14-9-0 record as the away team.

Getting the Avs at this price is too good to pass up.

Avalanche vs Penguins Over/Under analysis

The Penguins have been a part of some high-scoring games recently and I have to imagine that this will be similar with all of the star-studded talent in this game.

Both teams are averaging more than three goals per game, with the Penguins scoring 3.27 per 60 minutes and the Avalanche getting 3.06 goals per game.

Francouz vs. DeSmith doesn’t strike me as a strong goaltending battle. This will be a back-and-forth, offensively played game with a ton of goal-scoring. I like the Over.