The St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche play each other twice at the start of the new season, so I bring you the best betting pick and tips for their rematch Friday, January 15, along with the latest odds update on BetAmerica Sportsbook.
The Blues defeated the Avs 4-1 as +130 moneyline road dogs on the opening night and will look to extend their dominance over Colorado even though they will take the ice as underdogs once more. St. Louis has won 22 of its last 28 games against the Avalanche.
The Blues overcame an early deficit to start the 2021 NHL season on the right foot
The St. Louis Blues failed to defend the title last year, exiting in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. They entered the new season as +2000 underdogs to win the 2021 Stanley Cup and a +550 out-of-towner to finish atop of the newly formed West Division.
Anyway, the Blues didn’t care for the odds on the opening night, thrashing off the strongest Stanley Cup favorite away from home. They trailed after just 4:55 of play in the first period, but the Blues had an instant reply, netting twice until the end of the first 20 minutes.
Oskar Sundqvist scored a couple of goals including the equalizer, while Robert Thomas had a pair of dishes. Jordan Binnington turned 26 shots aside, and he’ll be the first-choice goalie for the Blues once again. Last season, Binnington went 30-13-7 with a 2.56 GAA and a .912 save percentage.
The Avs need to justify their preseason rankings
Many consider the Colorado Avalanche as top contenders to win the championship this season. The Avs entered the opening night as +650 favorites to clinch the 2021 Stanley Cup and +140 favorites to finish the regular season atop of the West Division.
However, the Avs put on a disappointing performance in the opener, allowing four unanswered goals to their opponents while taking just 27 shots towards Jordan Binnington. Center Nathan MacKinnon and winger Mikko Rantanen remained quiet, and this duo combined for 54 goals this past regular season even though Rantanen played just 42 games.
Philipp Grubauer patrolled the crease in the opener and posted 28 stops with a .875 save percentage. He was 18-12-4 last season, tallying a 2.63 GAA and a .916 save percentage. The Avs also count on Pavel Francouz who went 21-7-4 with a 2.41 GAA and a .923 save percentage last regular season.
Trends:St. Louis:
- 3-7 in the last ten games overall
- 1-4 in the last five games played on Friday
Colorado:
- 12-6 in the last 18 games played in January
The Winner Prediction
On paper, the Avs have one of the best offensive lines in the league, and I expect them to bounce back from a disappointing performance in the opener. Last season, the Avalanche were scoring 3.37 goals per contest (4th in the NHL) on 32.2 shots (9th).
The Blues will be a tough rival to beat, for sure, but the Avs don’t want to start the new season with a couple of straight losses on the home ice. We should see a tight battle and I also hope the Blues will feel some kind of the hangover effect after that easy win on Wednesday.
Pick: Take Colorado at -150
The Total:
I’ve mentioned in my previous previews that all teams will need some time to gel things, especially on the defensive end. Also, I’m pretty sure that the vast majority of players are far away from their top form and will have to improve physically in the next few weeks.
Therefore, I’m going with the over on the totals. The betting trends are not helping a lot, as the under has hit in six of the Blues’ last seven road games, but the over is 5-1 in the Avs’ previous six showings at home.
Pick: Go over 5.5 goals at -125
