NHL: Detroit Red Wings vs Colorado Avalanche Preview
Wings Hanging to Wild Card Spot in East, Avs Losing Grip on Central
NHL Hockey tonight features the Detroit Red Wings ( 33-22-6, 78 points) who are headed to the Ball Arena to take on the Colorado Avalanche (38-20-5, 81 points) in a match-up that is more than important to both clubs. Detroit has dropped two straight games after being outscored 9-3 against the Florida Panthers and New York Islanders.
NHL standings show the Wings six points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third in the Atlantic Division in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, while the Avalanche have sunk to third in the Central after splitting their last six games.
Oddsmakers opened Colorado -180 with a total of 6.5 (over -125). Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT and can be seen on TNT, Max, and Altitude. Let’s start our Red Wings vs Avalanche preview with a deeper look at the Wings from a betting perspective.
Red Wings vs Avalanche 
Day/Time:
Location: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Streaming: TNT/Max/Altitude
Detroit Will Have to Overcome Injury to Larkin
If the Detroit Red Wings are to catch the Maple Leafs or stay in their current wild-card spot, they’ll have to do it without captain Dylan Larkin who will be out two weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Florida Panthers.
They not only lose 54 points out of their line-up, but they also will need to fill a massive hole in leadership. Head Coach Derek Lalonde will give a more detailed update on his star after the Wings return from a critical 4-game road trip.
In their first practice since the NHL injury, Joe Veleno (11G, 15 A, 26 PTS) to over the 1C role. Lalonde said his hockey team will skate with 12 forwards for the foreseeable future. The Red Wings are +6.10 units this hockey season (5th in the NHL) and +3.55 units as an underdog (19-21). As a road dog, Detroit is 9-12 (+1.01 units).
Time for Stars to Shine
This isn’t going to be easy for the Colorado Avalanche (81 points) as they sit behind the Winnipeg Jets (83 points) and the Dallas Stars (83 points). The Jets own three games in hand over the Avs while the Stars have played 63 games, the same as Colorado.
No matter where Colorado lands on the playoff bracket, they’ll need their stars to play more minutes as head coach Jared Bednar cracks the whip down the stretch. The top three have never been a concern with Nathan MacKinnon putting up 20 points in his last 10 NHL games.
He centers a line that features Artturi Lehkonen (11 points Last 10) and Mikko Rantanen (12 points last 10). It’s the bottom nine and goaltending that provides some uneasiness. Both Rantanen and MacKinnon should hit the 40-goal mark but then you drop down to a second line that will be hard-pressed to find a 20-goal scorer.
On top of that concern, were not sure about leaning on Alexandar Georgiev (31-15-3, 2.91 GA, .899) in net. Anyway, that’s then and this is now so let’s focus on a winner for tonight.
Expect Over Money
We haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly which way the public is going to wager here, but we suspect we’ll see over money, which we usually do with Colorado.
On the moneyline side we’ve seen an avalanche of money that has pushed Colorado up to a -200 home favorite, forcing us to look at the total. Colorado has pitched a shutout in two of their last three games, granted both wins were against Chicago, but before that Bednar’s team held the Stars to one goal.
We haven’t forgotten the 5-1 loss to Nashville, but in their last eight games, the Avalanche have allowed just 15 goals in regulation. Detroit has cashed unders tickets in five of their last nine games.
We conclude our Red Wings vs Avalanche preview by suggesting that the under is the play but let’s wait as long as possible with over money sure to come in, therefore giving u a better number come puckdrop. That concludes our Red Wings vs Avalanche preview, all the best with your NHL picks and parlays.
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