Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and the Colorado Avalanche will face off against Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in an East-West matchup. AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh will broadcast the action, which gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 4.
Colorado Avalanche at Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Pittsburgh heads into the matchup as the substantial favorite with a moneyline of -140. The line for the Avalanche sits at +120 and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 7 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Colorado is 16-11 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 3.9 units this season. Through 27 regular season contests, 14 of its games have gone under the total, while 13 have gone over and none have pushed. The Avs are 10-6 SU on the road in 2018-19.
Colorado enters the match up with the first-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s converted on 32.2 percent of its extra-man chances this year. Its penalty kill is ranked 11th overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 80.8 percent of its penalties..
Boasting a .930 save percentage and 29.4 saves per game, Semyon Varlamov (10-8-3) has been the primary option in goal for Colorado this year. If it decides to give him a rest, however, Colorado may turn to Philipp Grubauer (6-3-2 record, .904 save percentage, 3.06 goals against average).
On the other side of the ice, Pittsburgh is 10-15 straight up (SU) and has already lost 14.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 25 regular season contests, 11 of its games have gone under the total, while 10 have gone over and just four have pushed. It’s 5-8 SU as the home team this year.
The Penguins have converted on 24.3 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.3 percent of all opponent power plays.
Casey DeSmith (24.3 saves per game) has been the top netminder in goal for the Penguins. DeSmith has six wins, 10 losses, and three overtime losses to his credit and has recorded a 2.45 goals against average and a .922 save percentage this season.
Colorado Avalanche at Pittsburgh Penguins Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Trends
Over Colorado’s last ten games, five of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-0 in those games).
The Penguins this season have recorded the most hits per game in the NHL (29.9), but that number has risen to 35.2 over their last five games as the home team.
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