Jets Flying High But Avalanche Still the Favorites
Colorado Should Edge Series Per Our Avalanche vs Jets Preview
The Colorado Avalanche head to Manitoba to take on the Winnipeg Jets to start the first round of the playoffs on Saturday. The “Avs” are the lower seed but NHL playoff odds show them as a -138 road favorite to win the series. 5.5 (over -188) is the total number of games in the series, as is the number with every first-round series. We start with Colorado with our Avalanche vs Jets preview.
Colorado Avalanche vs Winnipeg Jets 
Records: Colorado Avalanche, (50-25-7), Winnipeg Jets (52-24-6)Â
Day/Time:
Location: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, MB
Streaming: ESPN2 & Altitude
Avalanche Look To Break Jets Dominance
Every postseason series price provides a few head-scratchers where the team without home ice is the favorite to win. Betting dogs has always been the way to go this time of year for individual wagers. But when a series price favors a team that has dropped three straight games by a combined score of 17-4, we can’t fall into the hole in front of us.
We have the Colorado Avalanche (5th) one spot ahead of Winnipeg (6th) in our latest power rankings. Colorado owns the league’s most lethal offense (3.68 goals per game) led by a top line that features a 50-goal scorer in Nathan Mackinnon (51-89-140), Mikko Rantanen (42-62-104), and veteran Jonathan Drouin (19-37-56).
Valeri Nichushkin (28-25-53 points) anchors the second line with newly acquired Caey Middlestadt (18-39-57) in the middle. Colorado’s top defensive pairing continues to be one of the best in the league with Devon Toews (12-38-50) and Cale Makar (21-69-90).
Alexander Georgiev (38-18-5, 3.02, .897) will start between the pipes. Despite a plethora of talent, Colorado has been dominated by the Winnipeg Jets. It has dropped six of its last eight meetings against them dating back to 2022.
Colorado won 50 of 82 games this season but it wasn’t good enough to turn a profit with 2.25 units lost. It was the first time Colorado failed to turn a profit since 2018.
Jared Bednar’s team lost in seven in the first round of the playoffs last year to the Seattle Kraken but since 2019, Colorado is 41-23 (+5.22) in the postseason.
In that time, the Avs are just 4-8 as an underdog but if they can steal a win in Winnipeg they should be able to add to an impressive 37-15 resume’ as a postseason favorite.
Jets Rebound In Final Month To Grab Home Ice
It was a three-team race in the Central with about a week left in the regular season between Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, and Winnipeg.
That’s when thighs started to turn for the worse for Rick Bowness’ team. Winnipeg was playing their third game of a five-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils after beating Columbus (6-1) and the New York Rangers (4-2) as a +108 underdog.
They were 44-19-5 heading to New Jersey and that’s when they took their foot off the pedal. The Devils handed the Jets a 4-2 defeat, starting a streak of six straight losses, five as a favorite. The worst loss was their last in the streak coming at the hands of the Ottawa Senators (3-2) as a -199 favorite.
The loss pushed them six points in back of Colorado and nine away from the Dallas Stars. Winnipeg wasn’t able to cover up the hole they dug for themselves but they made it interesting with eight straight wins to fall short in the Central by three points.
The Jets smashed the Avalanche in their last meeting, 7-0, a week ago with Connor Hellebuyck making 30 saves in the win. Sean Monahan added two goals and an assist. For the second straight season, Winnipeg produced a profit (+9.34 units) produced a profit for bettors with only the St. Louis Blues (+12.89) and the New York Rangers (+11.50) better bets.
In the postseason, Winnipeg has struggled in the playoffs for bettors with a 17-27 record (-8.57) since the 2015 postseason, only four other teams have been worse playoff wagers in that time (Pittsburgh, Nashville, Edmonton, and Minnesota).
Standings in the National Hockey League (NHL) have never been all that important when the playoffs begin, but Winnipeg hopes to continue the surging forward against a difficult first-round opponent.
Hard To Ignore The Line
Any seasoned bettor will tell you, it’s hard to ignore what you know through experience. We know that the oddsmakers have made Colorado a favorite for a reason and we feel that same.
Beating a team here and there in the regular season is one thing, taking four of seven is another. Facing a team that may have taken a year off after winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, Winnipeg knows what Stanley Cup intensity is like.
It’s been six years since Winnipeg went deep into the postseason (2018 loss to the Golden Knights in the conference finals). We’re not sure they have the same grit while lacking Stanely Cup experience. In today’s prediction, we’re taking the Avalanche to knock off the higher-seeded Jets in the first round.
That does it for our Avalanche vs Jets playoff preview, all the best with your NHL picks and parlays.
For NHL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
