Avalanche vs Penguins Prediction

pickdawgz.com

26 October 2023

The Colorado Avalanche will play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Colorado has won all six games so far this season, while Pittsburgh has lost three games in a row.

Avalanche Preview

The Colorado Avalanche are 6-0-0 this season after they defeated the Islanders by a score of 7-4 in their last game. Colorado trailed 3-2 in the second period, but they scored five of the next seven goals for the win. The Avalanche out shot New York by a total of 38-32 and went 1-3 on the power play in the game. Colorado has scored four goals or more in four straight games. The Colorado Avalanche are scoring 4.50 goals per game and they are allowing 2.00 goals against per game, while going 28.6% on the power play and 92.6% on the penalty kill. Mikko Rantanen has led the Avalanche this year with five goals, seven assists, and 24 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Colorado is Alexandar Georgiev, who is 6-0-0 this season with a 1.98 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.

Penguins Preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 2-4-0 this year after they lost to the Dallas Stars by a score of 4-1 in their last game. Pittsburgh led 1-0 in the first period, but couldn’t find the back of the net for the rest of the night. The Penguins out shot Dallas by a total of 39-34 and went 0-3 on the power play in the game. Pittsburgh has also lost to St. Louis and Detroit in this three game losing streak. The Pittsburgh Penguins are scoring 2.83 goals per game and they are allowing 3.33 goals against per game, while going 12.5% on the power play and 82.4% on the penalty kill. Evgeni Malkin has led the Penguins this season with four goals, four assists, and 23 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Pittsburgh is Tristan Jarry, who is 1-3-0 this year with a 2.81 goals against average and a .892 save percentage.

Pittsburgh Penguins Team Facts

The underdogs have won four of the last five games between the Avalanche and Penguins.
The Penguins have failed to cover the puck line in 10 of their last 11 games at PPG Paints Arena against opponents on a winning streak.
The Penguins have lost the second period in seven of their last eight games as home underdogs.
The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 3' market has hit in each of the Penguins' last seven home games.

Colorado Avalanche Team Facts

The Avalanche have won seven of their last eight games.
The favorites have covered the puck line in each of the Avalanche's last four games.
The Avalanche have won the third period in each of their last four games as favorites against opponents on a losing streak.
The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 1' market has hit in each of the Avalanche's last three games.

Pittsburgh Penguins Player Prop Facts

Bryan Rust has scored at least one goal in five of the Penguins' last six games as underdogs.
Jake Guentzel has recorded at least one point in seven of the Penguins' last eight games as underdogs against Central Division opponents.
Evgeni Malkin has recorded at least one assist in each of his last four home appearances against the Avalanche.
Jake Guentzel has the equal-most multi-point games for the Penguins this season (2).

Colorado Avalanche Player Prop Facts

Nathan MacKinnon has scored at least one goal in four of the Avalanche's last five games as favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
Valeri Nichushkin has recorded at least one point in each of the Avalanche's last five games.
Valeri Nichushkin has recorded at least one assist in each of the Avalanche's last four games as favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
Logan O'Connor ranks T1st in the league for Game Winning Goals (2) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

The Pittsburgh Penguins ranks T2nd in the league for shots per game this season (35.0).
The Pittsburgh Penguins ranks 29th in the league in penalty minutes this season (52).
The Colorado Avalanche are one of three teams to rank in the top 10 for both goals scored and goals conceded per game this season.
The Colorado Avalanche ranks 4th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (92.59%).

Pick

Colorado comes into this game looking to keep their undefeated season alive, while Pittsburgh is trying to snap their three game losing streak. The Avalanche have looked great to start the season, but they did allow four goals in each of their last two games. Pittsburgh has only scored six goals in their last three games and they are averaging 2.83 goals per game this season. Colorado isn’t going to win all season, but I don’t think their first loss will come here. The Avs are better in just about every metric and I like them to get the road win here.