Colorado vs New Jersey: Avalanche will not allow a second straight loss to the Devils

On April 15, 2022, the American state of Denver will host another NHL regular-season game where local Colorado will take on New Jersey at the Ball Arena. 

Colorado are having a strong regular season, having already all but secured the first playoff seed in the Western Conference. Jared Bednar's team has been on a high tempo since the start of the season, and they've managed to keep it up to now. Yes, the Denver team has been plagued by injuries to its top players, but even those problems haven't stopped them from producing consistently good results. In the last seven games, the Avalanche did not suffer a single defeat, and the day before they destroyed Los Angeles by 9:3. If Colorado manage to play in the same form in the playoffs, they will finally have a real chance for the long-awaited Stanley Cup.

New Jersey had another poor regular season, losing any chance of making the playoffs a long time ago, and is now looking to finish the season on the fast track to a holiday. The Devils have been playing particularly poorly since the second half of March, during a disastrous stretch in which they've lost 10 of their 12 games. In their last two games, Lindy Ruff's team defeated Dallas and Arizona 3-1 and 6-2 respectively but they could not improve the Red and Black's position significantly. New Jersey is now 14th in the Eastern Conference standings.

• Colorado have a current streak of seven straight wins;
• New Jersey have won their last two consecutive games;
• New Jersey lost to Colorado in eight of the last nine games in Denver;
• Colorado won their last four straight home games.

Colorado and New Jersey in terms of skill and ambition are teams from different planets. While the Avalanche are far and away from the leader of the West, the Devils are among the outsiders in the East. Yes, the Red and Black are on a five-game losing streak in their last two games, but before that, they had a five-game losing streak and the Denver team has not lost a point in seven straight meetings. Jared Bednar's wards are the clear favorites in the upcoming battle, so we have to place our bet on Colorado's victory with a handicap (-1.5) for 1.83.

Colorado are the Western Conference's highest-scoring team. In just 73 regular-season games, the Avalanche have scored 284 goals (3.89 average per game) and have hit their opponents 39 times (4.33 average per game) in the last nine meetings. New Jersey, meanwhile, have serious defensive concerns, conceding 271 goals (3.71 average per game) in 73 games. Therefore, the best choice for our prediction is Colorado's Total Over 4.5 pucks for 2.36.

Valeri Nichushkin has had an excellent regular season, which has already been the best of his career. To this point, the Russian forward has already amassed 43 points (21 goals + 22 assists) while playing in only 54 games this season after missing numerous games due to injury. For the first time in his NHL career, he surpassed the 20 goals-against average, while the 27-year-old surpassed his personal best a long time ago. He is in great shape now, so it is worth looking at a bet on Valeri Nichushkin Total Over 0.5 point for 1.57.

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