In their final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Colorado Avalanche and the New Jersey Devils clash at the Prudential Center. This East-West matchup will get underway at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 4 and it’ll be shown live on Altitude 2.
Colorado Avalanche at New Jersey Devils Odds
Colorado enters the contest as the substantial favorite with a -170 moneyline. The line for New Jersey is standing at +150 and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -115 money on the over and -105 on the under.
Colorado is 24-17 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 4.1 units this season. Through 41 regular season matches, 21 of its games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and just two have pushed. As a road team in 2019-20, the Avs are 13-8 SU.
Colorado has converted on 20.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 23rd overall, and it has successfully killed off 78.0 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Colorado has been whistled for penalties 3.8 times per game overall this season, 3.4 per game over its last five games total, and 3.4 per game over its last five games as the visiting team. The team’s been forced to defend opponent power plays just 8.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .910 save percentage and 27.8 saves per game, Philipp Grubauer (12-12-3) has been the primary option in goal for Colorado this season. If Colorado decides to rest him, however, they might go with Pavel Francouz (12-5-1 record, .927 save percentage, 2.41 goals against average).
The visiting Avalanche will be led by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. MacKinnon has 62 points on 25 goals and 37 assists, and has recorded multiple points 17 times. Makar has nine goals and 22 assists to his credit (and has logged a point in 21 games).
On the other side of the rink, New Jersey is 15-25 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. 21 of its contests have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team’s 6-14 SU at home this season.
New Jersey has converted on just 14.7 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s ranked 29th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 19th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.3 percent of all penalties.
The Devils have been penalized 4.2 times per game this season, and 3.2 per game over their last five home outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties a whopping 15.2 minutes per game over their last five outings.
MacKenzie Blackwood has denied 26.3 shots per game as the top selection in goal for New Jersey. Blackwood has 14 wins, 17 losses, and five OT losses to his name and has maintained a mediocre 2.79 goals against average and a poor .909 save percentage this season.
Kyle Palmieri (15 goals, 13 assists) will lead the attack for New Jersey.
Colorado Avalanche vs. New Jersey Devils Betting Picks
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- For both of these teams, the total has gone over in three of their last five games.
- Power plays and penalty kills could have a critical role in the outcome of this one. The Avalanche are 14-7 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 18-8 in games where they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Devils are 6-11 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 8-15 when their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- New Jersey (2-4 in shootouts) has more experience this season in games decided by shootout. Colorado fell short in its only shootout this season.
- New Jersey is ranked 21st in the NHL this season with 7.0 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended higher lately, as it has averaged 8.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 9.4 takeaways over its last five.
- Colorado skaters have created 7.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 8.5 takeaways per game (ranked sixth in the league).
