Two of the league’s best at scoring on the power play, the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche clash at the Pepsi Center. This divisional matchup will get underway at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, November 30 and it can be watched live on Altitude 2.
St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche Odds
Colorado (-160) is being picked as the favorite over St. Louis (+140), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals. If you want to play the matchup’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 for the over and -110 for the under.
Netting 4.5 units for moneyline bettors, the Avalanche are 15-10 straight up (SU) overall in the 2018-19 season. That winning percentage, ranked fifth in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 43-39 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Of the team’s 25 games this season, 13 have gone over the total, while 12 have gone under and none have pushed. The team is 6-4 SU at home this season.
Colorado currently touts the second-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it has converted on 31.7 percent of their extra-man advantages this season. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 14th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.9 percent of all penalties.
Colorado, as a collective unit, has been penalized 4.2 times per game overall this season, and 3.2 per game over its last five matchups at home. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 6.6 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, in total.
Averaging 29.4 saves per game with a .927 save percentage, Semyon Varlamov (9-7-2) has been the most dependable option in goal for the Avalanche this year. If head coach Jared Bednar chooses to rest him, however, the team could turn to Philipp Grubauer (6-3-3 record, .904 save percentage, 3.06 goals against average).
Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon will both lead the offensive attack for the Avalanche. Rantanen (42 points) has produced 10 goals and 32 assists and has recorded two or more points 13 times this year. MacKinnon has 18 goals and 23 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 19 games.
St. Louis has lost 9.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year and is currently 8-15 straight up (SU). 11 of its matches have gone over the total, while another 11 have gone under the total and just one has pushed. As the away team so far, St. Louis is 2-7 SU.
St. Louis has converted on 24.4 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for eighth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 10th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.7 percent of all opponent power plays.
St. Louis’ skaters have been called for penalties 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five on the road. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 8.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jake Allen (25.9 saves per game) has been the main option in the net for St. Louis. Allen has six wins, 12 losses, and three overtime losses to his credit, while registering a .894 save percentage and 3.32 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive firepower for the visiting Blues will be Ryan O’Reilly (12 goals, 15 assists) and Vladimir Tarasenko (eight goals, 11 assists).
St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche Betting Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner \u2013 Avalanche, O/U \u2013 Under
Betting Notes
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their last five games.
- Penalties and power plays could prove to be critical in tonight’s game. The Blues are 3-9 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 5-9 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Avalanche are 6-2 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 10-4 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Colorado has created 7.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 5.4 takeaways per game (ranked 27th in the NHL).
- St. Louis has managed 8.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, its season average of 7.6 takeaways per game (ranked 14th in the league).
