Arizona vs Colorado: The leader to beat the main underdog

Arizona defeated Colorado sensationally in their last head-to-head encounter. Will Jared Bednar's team be able to take revenge for that defeat in the upcoming game? Our prediction: this time the Avalanche will win easily!

The current regular championship turns out to be extremely unsuccessful for Arizona, but the club has long been accustomed to such developments. The league's hopeless outsider is having a rough time, with a very modestly named roster and plenty of organizational issues. Nevertheless, the Coyotes have been clinging to points from time to time lately, which can already be considered somewhat of a local success. In the last seven matches, they've managed to win three times and lose four times. Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to allow the Glendale team to drop out of the last spot in the Western Conference standings and they're still trailing by seven points from last place.

Colorado is hands down the best team of the current regular season. Jared Bednar's team has been incredibly consistent, posting one long winning streak after another. In their last 26 matches, the Avalanche have suffered only four losses against 22 wins, which is pretty impressive on its own. Now the team from Denver stopped sharing points with their opponents, beating Detroit, Winnipeg, Vegas, and the Islanders recently with a combined score of 19-10, and every time they managed to win during regular time. Of course, Colorado now leads the Western Conference standings, 14 points ahead of the nearest pursuer.

Within the regular NHL championships, the teams have faced off 143 times, the Coyotes winning 59 matches and the Avalanche stronger in 72 games, with the other12 games a draw. The goal difference is also on the side of the team from Denver, 477-454. In the current season, the rivals have met three times, Colorado winning twice (4-3 and 5-0), and once Arizona was stronger (3-2).

Arizona and Colorado are teams of different worlds, as the Coyotes currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings while the Avalanche lead the entire league. There is currently a gap of 52 points between the two opponents. Of course, in this situation the unconditional favorite is the team from Denver, which has ceased to spare the opponents, winning the previous four games in a row, and each time in the main time. There is no doubt that they will succeed in Glendale, and you can bet on Colorado's victory with a handicap (-1.5) at odds of about 1.70.

Colorado has not only constantly beaten Arizona lately, but also have scored a lot in these matches. The previous seven face-offs saw the Avalanche hit their opponent's goal 33 times (4.71 average per game), which is a very solid figure. In the current regular season, Jared Bednar's team looks great offensively with 218 goals in 54 games (4.03 average per game), while the Coyotes have problems defensively with 195 missed pucks in 53 games (3.68 average per game). With that in mind, Colorado's Individual Total Over (4.5) pucks at odds close to 2.20 seems like a good bet.

Andre Burakovsky is having another strong season for Colorado, having already forgotten about the days when he had to play in the lower ranks in Washington. Now the Swedish forward regularly plays in the Avalanche's front three, and he can also play in other combinations to put up a steady stream of points. In 52 matches of the current regular season, he has scored 42 points (17 goals + 25 assists), which is a really good indicator, and the day before he scored a goal and made an assist, proving his good shape. You can bet on his Total Over (0.5) at odds of about 3.00.