The Pepsi Center plays host to an East-West matchup as the Colorado Avalanche take on the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning. The game gets underway at 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 24 and it’s being televised live on NBC Sports Network.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Colorado Avalanche Odds
Tampa Bay (+120) is currently the underdog to Tampa Bay (-140) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -105 money on the over and -115 for the under.
Earning 3.0 units for moneyline bettors, Colorado is 6-3 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That winning percentage, the league’s third-best so far this season, is an improvement compared to how the team performed during the 2017-18 season (43-39). Five of its nine contests have gone under the total, while four have gone over and none have pushed. The team is 2-1 SU at home this season.
The Avalanche have successfully scored on 27.3 percent of their power play opportunities so far. That’s a noticeable improvement from last season, when they were ranked 10th in the league by scoring on 21.3 percent of their extra-man chances. Their penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 83.3 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked third overall last season) to 90.5 percent this year.
The Avalanche, as a collective unit, have been called for penalties 5.6 times per game this season. Last year, they posted the figure in the league with 4.0 penalties per game. After serving an average of 9.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s had to kill penalties for a taxing 12.3 minutes per matchup this year.
Averaging 33.5 saves per game with a .953 save percentage, Semyon Varlamov (4-2-2) has been the top goalkeeper for the Avs this season. If the Avs, however, choose to give him a breather, head coach Jared Bednar might roll with Philipp Grubauer (2-1-1 record, .925 save percentage, 2.68 goals against average).
Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon will each spearhead the attack for the Avalanche. Rantanen (16 points) has tallied four goals and 12 assists while MacKinnon has eight goals and seven assists to his name so far in the early stages of the season.
Tampa Bay is 5-2 straight up (SU) and has netted 0.7 units for moneyline bettors this season. A total of four of its matches have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. The Lightning are 1-1 SU as the road team this season.
The Bolts have scored on 25.0 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 24.8 percent of their extra-man opportunities last season (which ranked them fourth in the league in that category). The team’s gone from successfully defending 75.9 percent of opponent power plays (ranked 28th overall last season) to 96.6 percent this year.
Tampa Bay’s skaters have been penalized 4.4 times per game this season. Last season, that number was at 4.1, which was the fifth-highest mark in the league. After serving an average of 9.6 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for 9.4 minutes per matchup this year.
Andrei Vasilevskiy (30.8 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy owns a 3-2-1 record, while registering a .933 save percentage and 2.15 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Lightning, the offense will be facilitated by J.T. Miller (two goals, six assists) and Brayden Point (five goals, three assists).
Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in four of Colorado’s last five games.
Colorado has averaged 4.0 goals per game (while allowing just 1.7) across its three-game winning streak.
Tampa Bay skaters recorded 22.6 hits per game last season, while the Avalanche logged 20.4 hits per matchup.
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