Blues vs Avalanche Betting Preview: Blues Hoping to Change Fate at 5,280
Blues Just 6-18 in Last 24 Meetings Against AvalancheÂ
In this Blues vs Avalanche betting preview, we’ll break down both teams from a betting perspective and then add another NHL pick against the spread, moneyline, or total to get our readers another winning bet on the ice. St. Louis has won back-to-back games after a nasty eight-game losing streak but is still in last place in the Central Division, 9-points behind the Winnipeg Jets. Colorado is third, two points behind Winnipeg with a game in hand.
Game Information
St. Louis Blues (5-8-0) vs Colorado Avalanche (8-4-1)
Date, time (TV):
Location: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Streaming: Altitude, BSMW
Blues Hoping to Build off Massive Win in Vegas
The 2022-23 season has gotten off to a slow start for fifth-year coach Craig Berube. His team is 5-8 and is clearly one of the league’s biggest disappointments, costing bettors 328 units to start the year. When looking at the NHL schedule you wouldn’t point to a two-game trip to Las Vegas and then to Denver as where an underachieving team might start to find success.
The Golden Knights were the hottest team in the NHL with nine straight wins, but goaltender Jordan Binnington stole the show with 34 saves, including 22 in the third period. To give the Blues a 3-2 win as a +160 underdog. Now they’ll look to complete their improbable sweep against the Avalanche who have a small four-game streak of their own on the line.
The Blues, who have won two straight, are turning the luck over far less than they did during the recent 8-game losing streak that saw them fall to the bottom of the Central Division standings. Possession will be key for our selection against the Avalanche who will win the Corsi battle on most nights. If the possession number can be closer to 50/50, then we’ll easily cash our ticket.
Colorado Look for Homestand Sweep Before Road Trip
One more to go at Ball Arena for Jared Bednar’s team before they head out on the road to play eight of their next 10 away from their friendly confines. Colorado is finding ways to win but their hockey injuries have tested the club’s mettle after losing Valeri Nichushkin, Bowen Byram, Sam Girard, and Shane Bowers to injuries. Kurtis MacDermid left Saturday’s win over Carolina with a lower-body injury.
Only the Edmonton Oilers (+1434) and the New York Rangers (+1543 units) have produced more profit in that span.
Nichushkin, Byram, and Bowers will be out for a few weeks at the least. The last three seasons have been kind to bettors, despite having to lay a big number on most nights, with almost 1300 units won in that span. Only the Edmonton Oilers (+1434) and the New York Rangers (+1543 units) have produced more profit in that span.
Despite the Avalanche being the stronger NHL team, we don’t feel as if laying -190 at any point in the season, and certainly not early on, is the best move to consistently build a bankroll. Let’s conclude our Blues vs Avalanche betting preview by considering another option.
Public on the Wrong Side of This Matchup
This will be a battle of wits between the bookmakers and the betting public. The send-out number on this game was Colorado -245, but there was an adjustment made that pushed Colorado down to a -195 favorite, a number that the professionals pushed up to -200, but when the squares started waking up they couldn’t resist the huge plus number with a team they just saw get a big win against the Knights, forcing the number down to a consensus -192.
The intriguing aspect is since then the Books are continuing to receive larger amounts of Colorado money, but are not moving that number back up just yet.
They are definitely taking a stance with St. Louis despite 73% of all tickets being on the Avalanche. It will be interesting to see where the betting money lay when those numbers come out. Let’s look to the less ominous total to get tonight’s winner. We were hoping to get -110 or better but bookmakers are laying a trap on the total, knowing that the public tendency is to bet the over when it comes to Avalanche games.
They’re even throwing out a -105 carrot. We’re not falling for that with our official Blues vs Avalanche betting preview selection being under 6.5 (-115).
| Last Updated: 11/14/2022 | Teams |
|---|---|
| Moneyline | Avalanche -190, Blues +160 |
| Puckline | Avalanche -1.5 (+120), Blues +1.5 (-145) |
| Total | 6.5 (u -115) |
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