Venue: Ball Arena.
San Jose have lost to Colorado in their last five consecutive head-to-head meetings on the road by a combined score of 6-21. Will Bob Boughner’s team be able to avoid another loss in such a tough away game? We predict that the Avalanche will not leave a chance for their opponent to succeed again.
Colorado’s current form
Colorado gradually miss the opportunity to take first place in the regular season in the Western Division. The reason is the coronavirus that struck the team in mid-April, causing the team to go into quarantine, losing game tempo and several players still recovering. Yes, the Avalanche were able to beat St. Louis 4-2 after the break, but they couldn’t score a single point in the next three meetings, losing all games during that run by a combined score of 6-14. That leaves Colorado in second place in the West Division standings, already six points behind the leader with a game to spare.
San Jose’s current form
The Sharks found themselves in the weakest division, where they could regularly lose games and still be in contention for a playoff spot. That’s what the Californians did, but in April they decided to relax, allowing a streak of eight straight losses that finally knocked them out of the playoffs. In such a situation, Bob Boughner’s boys beat Arizona twice in a row - 6-4 and 4-2, and these defeats could become determinative for the Coyotes in their fight for the playoffs. San Jose remain in sixth place in the West Division standings, seven points behind the playoffs.
Expert Betting Tips
There are a lot of amazing things in the hockey world, but Colorado and San Jose’s current form is somewhere far off the mark. The Avalanche approach the upcoming game with a streak of three straight losses, while the Sharks have won their last two games. Yes, that’s right, not the other way around! Of course, in this upcoming battle, the teams have to switch roles and now the Denver team should beat the Californians, as they did in the last five face-to-face meetings on home ice. We offer to bet on the victory of Colorado with a handicap (-1.5) at odds of about 1.90.
Particular attention should be paid to how productive the Colorado players are offensively against San Jose. In the last six face-to-face meetings in the regular championships, the Avalanche hit the Sharks’ goal 24 times (4.00 average per game), which is a very good indicator. The Californians still have the worst defense in the Western Division, conceding 169 pucks (3.45 average per game) in 49 games, so the Denver club after three straight losses should go all-out here, and the best option for the prediction looks like Colorado’s individual Total Over 3.5 pucks at odds close to 1.80.
Andre Burakovsky continues to be on Colorado’s first line along with Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog, which in itself bodes well for his prolific play. Of course, the Swedish forward justifies his appearance in the first line by steadily scoring points, or else he would have been reassigned somewhere lower a long time ago. Overall, the 26-year-old has already scored 32 points (14 goals + 18 assists) on the season, so we suggest betting on Andre Burakovsky’s Total Over 0.5 points at odds of around 1.80.
Other predictions
