The Colorado Avalanche will be looking to stay alive when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 on Thursday. Vegas defeated Colorado on Tuesday in overtime, 3-2 to take a 3-2 series lead.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this Central Division battle at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas is the favorite at -135. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts Colorado at +115 as the underdog.
The Avalanche will be without Matt Calvert, Pavel Francouz, Dennis Gilbert, and Erik Johnson. Nazem Kadri is eligible to return. The Golden Knights will be without Peyton Krebs and Tomas Nosek.
Avalanche Falter Down the Stretch
The Colorado Avalanche took a 2-0 behind goals by Brandon Saad and Joonas Donskoi, but watched Vegas score two goals in the third period and get the game-winner less than a minute into overtime to earn the 3-2 victory. Philipp Grubauer stopped 22 of 25 shots in the loss.
Colorado is averaging 3.89 goals per game and are connecting on 12.7% of their shots, both first in the playoffs. They are second on the power-play at 30.3%. Nathan MacKinnon is the playoff leader for the team with eight goals and 13 points. Both Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen have eight assists and 12 points.
Colorado is allowing 2.33 goals per game, and they are killing off 81.0% of short-handed situations. Grubauer is 6-3 with a 2.33 GAA and a .925 save percentage.
Vegas Rally Has Team Game From Advancing
Third period goals by Alex Tuch and Jonathan Marchessault tied the score and Mark Stone won it 50 seconds into overtime to give Vegas a 3-2 victory. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 of 30 shots.
Vegas is averaging 2.83 goals per game and are connecting on 8.6% of their shots. The power-play is connecting on 14.8% of their opportunities. The Golden Knights are led by William Karlsson with seven assists and 10 points. Marchessault is the team leader in goals with six and is tied for second in points with eight.
Vegas is allowing 2.33 goals per game, and they are killing off 74.1% of shorthanded situations. Fleury has a 7-4 record with a 1.81 GAA and a .925 save percentage.
Trends:
Colorado:
- 5-0 in their last five games on Thursday.
- 5-2 in their last seven games on the road.
Vegas:
- 2-5 in their last seven games on Thursday.
Free NHL Picks
Colorado is a team that has continuously battled back all season. I will admit that Vegas is hot right now, winning the last three games in the series, but it took a complete collapse by the Avalanche in Game 5. Do not expect that to happen here. I look for a fiery Colorado team to come out and dominate this contest.
Pick: Take Colorado at +115.
The Total:
These teams have gone under in nine of the last 13 meetings, but that is not going to be the case here. I look for Colorado the score four goals within the first 20 minutes of this contest and rout Vegas by the time it is over. This series is going seven for sure and this contest is going over as well.
Pick: Go over 5.5 at +100