Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the Colorado Avalanche will face off against Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, and the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in a divisional showdown. The opening face-off takes place at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 29, and you can view the game live on Altitude Sports & Entertainment.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Nashville Predators Odds
Colorado is 38-25 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 63 regular season matches, 31 of its games have gone under the total, while 29 have gone over and just two have pushed. As a road team this season, the Avs are 21-11 SU.
Colorado has converted on 18.9 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 19th out of 31 teams, and the team’s successfully killed off 79.7 percent of all penalties..
Boasting a .916 save percentage and 27.1 saves per game, Philipp Grubauer (19-17-4) has been the best option in goal for Colorado this year. If it chooses to rest him, however, head coach Jared Bednar could roll with Pavel Francouz (19-9-3), who has a .929 save percentage and 2.25 goals against average this year.
Nashville is 32-31 straight up (SU) and has lost 10.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 63 regular season contests, 35 of its games have gone over the total, while 27 have gone under and just one has pushed. This year, the team is 16-16 SU as the home team.
The Predators have converted on just 16.5 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s ranked 26th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 30th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 74.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
Juuse Saros has denied 25.9 shots per game as the primary choice in goal for the Predators. Saros has 14 wins, 20 losses, and four overtime losses to his credit and has registered a pedestrian 2.92 goals against average and a fairly-weak .906 save percentage this season.
Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The Avalanche are 21-10 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 29-12 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
- Nashville (3-3 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. Colorado has only participated in two shootouts this year, winning one and losing the other.
- The total has gone under in four of Colorado’s last five games.
- Colorado skaters have averaged 7.9 giveaways per game (the sixth-fewest in the league).
- Nashville is ranked 13th this season with 9.3 giveaways per game. That figure has trended higher, as the team’s averaged 10.6 giveaways over its last 10 games and 12.2 giveaways over its last five.
