Carolina vs Colorado: Avalanche to be stronger in NHL battle of leaders

Carolina and Colorado lead the conference standings. Who will emerge victorious in this battle between the league's top two teams right now? We predict that the Avalanche will be slightly closer to success!

Carolina are a team that is still maturing for Stanley Cup contention but are already showing very strong results. In recent years, Rod Brind'amour has assembled an aggressive, speedy and extremely capable team that moves through the regular season without a major slump. After stalling in mid-February, after losing four of five games, the Hurricanes started a winning streak that saw them lose only once in nine games to Washington, 0-4. In their last two meetings, the Red and Black outscored Pittsburgh and Seattle 3-2 to solidify their lead in the Eastern Conference standings.

Colorado are another team that is producing a classy regular season. Yes, the Avalanche's season opener didn't work out, but then they accelerated so much that they almost stopped losing points. They even managed to set a franchise record for wins in 19 straight games during the regular season, which speaks volumes about their incredible form. Yes, they've slowed down a bit recently, especially in March, when they lost three of their previous four meetings. Nevertheless, even this small decline does not reflect on their standing, as they continue to lead the Western Conference standings, already 12 points ahead of their nearest pursuer.

Carolina and Colorado are the two strongest teams in the league at the moment, leading the standings in their respective conferences. All this bodes well for the most stubborn and curious confrontation, in which the visitors will have a slightly better chance of success. Yes, the Avalanche have suffered a few setbacks of late, but they'll be highly motivated going into battle with their top rival. What's more, this rivalry has become strictly an away game, as in the last four tussles the host side have been defeated without fail. As a result, a bet on Colorado to win the match for 1.83 is in order.

Carolina and Colorado are two teams with terrific performers in the offensive group, which they have confirmed time and time again in the current regular season, unloading packs of goals to the opponents. Nevertheless, in their head-to-head rivalry, these teams have been consistently underdogs in the bookmakers' favour. In their last 11 head-to-head encounters, the opponents have combined for only 43 goals (3.90 average per game), which is very low by NHL standards, while only once in this stretch Total Over was passed (9%). Given that, Total Under 5.5 pucks for 2.30 would seem to be a good bet.

Valeri Nichushkin is having the best season of his overseas career. In the current regular season, he is consistently in Colorado's two leading lines, which allows him to have awesome personal stats. In 40 games played the Russian has already scored 31 points (14 goals + 17 assists). The Chelyabinsk hockey school pupil is just three points away from his personal best performance, with more than two dozen games left to be played in the regular season. The 27-year-old hockey player is in great shape, so you should consider betting on Valeri Nichushkin Total Over 0.5 points for 4.00.