Colorado vs Vegas: The Avalanche team will take out their tired opponent.

Colorado and Vegas have never faced each other in Stanley Cup history. Who will emerge victorious in this curious encounter? Our prediction: Jared Bednar's team will leave no chance for their opponent!

Colorado is the winner of the President's Trophy in the regular season, which in itself makes them a favorite in any playoff series. From the very first round of the Stanley Cup, Jared Bednar's men began to show their worth and their willingness to fight for the trophy. In their encounter with St. Louis, they didn't let their opponent even once go to overtime, winning all four games by a combined score of 20-7. That's a colossal advantage! The main thing is that now the Avalanche don't believe in themselves too early, as they will face a much more powerful opponent after the troubled Musicians.

Vegas was a long-time contender for the President's Cup but lost it on the last game day. Nevertheless, the Knights remain a very powerful team, which can solve big problems, although it experienced serious difficulties with Minnesota in the first round. Those savages are one of the most uncomfortable opponents for the wards of Peter Deboer, that is why the series was tense, close, and persistent, but still, in the decisive moment, Vegas was able to cope with the opponent, winning in the seventh game - 6:2. They did not have much time to prepare for the next round, but they would not have to get into a game rhythm again.

Colorado and Vegas finished the regular season with identical scores, but the Avalanche, who won the President's Cup and got St. Louis in the first round, which is in bad shape, were higher on additional stats. The Knights had a very tough series against Minnesota, which took a lot of energy, emotions, and health, and now they will have to fight such a powerful opponent as the team from Denver. Of course, the home team is the favorite, so we have to bet on the victory of Colorado with odds of about 3.25.

Colorado and Vegas are two bright and attacking teams that are used to getting positive results by playing in front of other people's doors. That's why we have the right to expect a lot of scoring activity in the upcoming game. Rod Brind'Amour's wards will try to show their opponent on the home ice who's the boss, and the Knights, after the success in the seventh game, will also go on the attack, so the total score over 5.5 pucks at odds close to 1.909 seems to be optimal for our forecast.

Nathan MacKinnon is the unquestioned leader of Colorado who had a fantastic regular season where he scored 74 points (26 goals + 48 assists) in 52 games, losing in the race of scorers to only a couple of aliens from «Edmonton». By the way, the Oilers are already out of the playoffs, so in the playoffs, the 25-year-old Canadian has every chance to become the best, which he is trying to do with nine points (6 goals + 3 assists) in four games. Fantastic! Such a productive hockey player gives reason to pay closer attention to the bet on the total of more than 1.5 points of Nathan MacKinnon with the odds of about 1.85.