Two clubs squaring off for the first time this season, the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues clash at the Enterprise Center. Fox Sports Midwest will showcase this divisional matchup, and the puck drops at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, October 21.
Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
St. Louis (-135) is favored over Colorado (+115) and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -115 money on the over and -105 for the under.
Colorado is 7-1 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 6.8 units this season. That SU win percentage, ranked first in the league so far this season, represents a welcome improvement compared to how the team performed last season (38-44). Five of its matches have gone over the total, while two have gone under and just one has pushed. This 2019-20 Avalanche team is 3-1 SU on the road.
Colorado has converted on 20.0 percent of its power play opportunities thus far. That mark hasn’t moved a lot from last season, when it was ranked 10th in the NHL by scoring on 21.0 percent of its extra-man chances. Its penalty kill has gotten stronger since last year, as the team has gone from successfully defending 79.3 percent of all opponent power plays (ranked 22nd overall last year) to 82.6 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, Colorado has been whistled for penalties 3.9 times per game in the 2019-20 season. Last year, that number was the third-highest mark in the league at 4.0 penalties per game. The team served an average of 9.4 penalty minutes per game last year and is right around that same amount this season.
Averaging 32.2 saves per game with a .919 save percentage, Philipp Grubauer (5-1-1) has been the top option in goal for Colorado this season. If it chooses to rest him, however, the team could turn to Pavel Francouz (2-0), who has a .951 save percentage and 1.95 goals against average this year.
The visiting Avalanche will be led by Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. MacKinnon (11 points) has tallied four goals and seven assists this season while Rantanen has five goals and six assists to his credit through the early stages of the regular season.
On the other bench, St. Louis is 3-5 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through eight regular season outings, four of its games have gone over the total, while another four have gone under and none have pushed. It’s 1-3 SU at home this season.
St. Louis has converted on 18.2 percent of its power plays this year after scoring on 19.9 percent (ranked 15th in league) last season. It has killed off a remarkable 86.4 percent of its penalties, a few points higher than the 80.1 percent the team recorded a year ago (when it was ranked 16th in the NHL).
The Blues have been penalized only 2.9 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 3.3, the fifth-lowest mark in the NHL. After serving an average of 7.5 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 5.8 minutes per contest this year.
Jordan Binnington (30.0 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for St. Louis. Binnington has two wins, four losses, and three overtime losses to his credit and has registered a mediocre 2.93 goals against average and a subpar .909 save percentage this season.
The Blue Notes offense will be led by Brayden Schenn (five goals, three assists).
Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues Betting Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- For both of these clubs, the total has gone over in four of their past five matchups.
- The Avalanche are 5-0 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 4-1 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
- After going 3-3 in games decided by a shootout last year, St. Louis is off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Colorado went 2-2 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- Colorado skaters ranked 22nd last year with 6.9 takeaways per game, but the team seems to be applying heavier pressure on opposing offenses to begin this season. It’s currently ranked third in the league with 9.8 takeaways per contest.
