By Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the Colorado Avalanche will do battle against Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, and the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center for a Central Division matchup. Fox Sports Midwest will showcase the matchup, and the puck drops at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, December 16.
Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues Odds
Playing the role of favorites will be the Avalanche (-115), whereas the Blues are dogs offering moneyline odds of -105, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been placed at 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Colorado is 21-11 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 10.5 units this year. 15 of its games have gone over the total, while another 15 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Avs are 11-6 SU on the road in 2019-20.
Colorado has converted on 18.5 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 23rd overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 77.9 percent of its penalties..
Boasting a .914 save percentage and 27.3 saves per game, Philipp Grubauer (11-7-2) has been the top option in goal for Colorado this year. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, Colorado may turn to Pavel Francouz (10-4-1), who has a .932 save percentage and 2.26 goals against average this year.
St. Louis is 20-14 straight up (SU) and has earned 2.6 units for moneyline bettors this season. 18 of its outings have gone under the total, while 16 have gone over and none have pushed. This year, the team is 10-7 SU at home.
The Blues have converted on 22.5 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 85.7 percent of all penalties.
Jordan Binnington has denied 27.3 shots per game as the primary option in the crease for the Blues. Binnington has 15 wins, 10 losses, and four OT losses and has registered a 2.46 goals against average and a .919 save percentage this year.
Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
NHL Tip: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
Eight of Colorado’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 7-1 in those games.
Power plays and penalty kills may prove to be key tonight. The Avalanche are 12-5 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 15-5 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, in total. The Blues are 10-3 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 16-9 when their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
For both of these teams, the game went over the total in four of their last five matchups.
Colorado is ranked fifth this season with just 8.3 giveaways per game. That figure has trended higher lately, as the team’s averaged 9.9 giveaways over its last 10 games and 10.6 giveaways over its last five.
St. Louis is ranked 5th this season with just 8.5 giveaways per game. That figure has improved recently, however, as it’s averaged 6.9 giveaways over its last 10 games and 5.8 giveaways over its last five.
