Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and the Colorado Avalanche are set to face off against Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and the Boston Bruins at TD Garden for an East-West showdown. This one gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 7 and it is being shown live on New England Sports Network.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Boston Bruins Odds
The Bruins (-145) are currently favored over the Avalanche (+125), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals (-120 for the over, +100 for the under).
Earning moneyline bettors 6.0 units, Boston is 20-9 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, ranked third in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 49-33 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Of its 29 games this season, 14 have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under and just two have pushed. This season, the team is 12-5 SU at home.
The Bruins come into the matchup with the third-best power-play unit in the NHL, as the team has converted on 29.4 percent of their extra-man opportunities this year. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 10th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 84.4 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 28.4 saves per game with a .929 save percentage, Tuukka Rask (13-5-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for Boston this season. If head coach Bruce Cassidy decides to give him a breather, however, Boston could roll with Jaroslav Halak (7-4-4 record, .934 save percentage, 2.14 goals against average).
Colorado has earned 8.6 units for moneyline bettors this year and is currently 18-10 straight up (SU). 14 of its outings have gone over the total, while 12 have gone under the total and just two have pushed. The Avalanche are 10-6 SU as the road team this season.
The Avalanche have converted on 19.3 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 26th overall and it’s successfully killed off 76.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
Philipp Grubauer (28.7 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for Colorado. Grubauer has 10 wins, seven losses, and two OT losses to his credit, and has registered a .916 save percentage and 2.75 goals against average this year.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Boston Bruins Betting Predictions
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Over Boston’s last ten outings, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-0 in those games).
- The Avalanche are 11-5 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 12-4 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- The total has gone under in four of Boston’s last five outings.
- Colorado has averaged 9.4 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 8.1 giveaways per game (ranked fourth in the league).
- Boston has averaged 9.6 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 10.9 giveaways per game (ranked 21st in the league).
- The Bruins this season have recorded the seventh-most hits in the NHL (24.3 per game), but the club has averaged 28.8 over their last five home games.
