This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks and Props for Blues vs. Avalanche
The St. Louis Blues (3-3-1) wrap up a four-game road trip against the Colorado Avalanche (6-2-0) on Wednesday night at Ball Arena in Denver. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET, and the game be can be viewed on TNT.
The Blues picked up an impressive 3-0 victory on the road against the Calgary Flames behind backup Joel Hofer on Thursday night, but they crashed back to Earth in a 5-0 setback in Vancouver against the Canucks on Friday night behind Jordan Binnington.
The Avalanche have to be thrilled to be home, as Colorado looks to pick up the pieces. They kicked off a strange road trip Tuesday against the New York Islanders with a 7-4 victory, but they followed that up with consecutive 4-0 losses against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. It's hard to imagine the Avalanche ever getting blanked, let alone in consecutive games, with such a high-octane attack.
The last time Colorado scored a goal was a pair of empty-net goals by Ryan Johansen and Ross Colton in the final minute of the win against the Isles. The Avalanche offense has gone scoreless in 120:31, which is just inexplicable. You have to feel for the Blues, as the Avs are likely going to get well in a big way against the visitors.
Oddly enough, though, the road team has come away victorious in eight of the past nine meetings in this series, although Colorado has won three straight meetings as a favorite while going 6-2 in the past eight when favored.
In addition, the Under has ended up going 4-0-1 in the past five meetings, although all four of the games in which the total went low has had exactly five total goals.
The Blues are expected to tab Binnington (2-2-1, 2.33 GAA, .926 SV%) for the start, while the Avalanche have a choice to make. Alexandar Georgiev (6-2-0, 2.40 GAA, .915 SV%) won his first six starts, but he's dropped the past two outings. The team could give rookie Ivan Prosvetov a shot if they want to finally give Georgiev a breather. A very winnable game against a poor offense could be a nice place to insert the rookie.
The Avalanche is going to break out on offense in a big way, but after back-to-back shutout losses, it's hard to eat a ton of chalk and go with Colorado straight up, and it's even more unfathomable to lay the puck and a half. As such, buy a little insurance, and take the Blues catching the goal and half.
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NHL Puck Line Bets for Blues vs. Avalanche
- Blues PL (+1.5, -115 at BetMGM)
As far as the total is concerned, the Blues have scored two or fewer goals in five of seven games overall, with the Under going 5-1-1 on the season. The lone Over result was a 6-2 setback at home against the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 19 in a battle of backup goaltenders, including Hofer's first assignment.
The Avalanche, again, have those consecutive shutout setbacks. The total has gone low in five of the past seven games overall for Colorado. In the first four games, the Avs allowed a total of four goals, but Georgiev has been very giving lately, with the Avs allowing exactly four goals in four straight contests.
The lean here is to the Under, as Colorado has had trouble lighting the lamp lately, and the Blues have struggled to score on a consistent basis all season.
In addition, Colorado ranks 15th in power-play percentage (18.8%) while ranking 4th in the NHL on the penalty kill (93.8%). St. Louis has a terrible power play, ranking second-to-last in the league at just 5.3%, while allowing just 2.3 GPG to rank 6th in the league despite a mediocre kill.
NHL Totals Bets for Blues vs. Avalanche
- Under 6.5 (-115 at BetMGM)
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NHL Player Props for Blues vs. Avalanche
Looking at the player props for both sides, we'll take one player from the visitors, and one player from the home side.
For the Blues, Pavel Buchnevich opened the season with no shots in his first two games, getting off to a slow start after trying to fight through an upper-body injury. He went without a shot on goal in his first two games. After a two-game absence, he returned Oct. 24 with a goal and an assist, including a score on the power play, and he has taking three or more shots on goal in each of the past three outings. The Over for SOG in Wednesday's should be a slam-dunk play.
- Pavel Buchnevich 2+ Shots On Goal (-146 at FanDuel)
On the flip side for the Avalanche, I feel as if Nathan MacKinnon is going to take it upon himself to break the scoreless skid for his team. He might not break the ice, but he'll factor in on offense at some point. It's been feast of famine for MacKinnon, opening with a goal and three points before going scoreless. He lit the lamp in three straight outings, then he and his teammates were scoreless in the past two contests. When Colorado scores, he is likely to be on the scoresheet, too.
- Nathan MacKinnon Anytime Goal Scorer (-115 at FanDuel)
Be sure to keep up with our up-to-the-minute NHL player props page to find the best values across the leading sportsbooks.
