In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Ottawa Senators and the Colorado Avalanche collide at the Pepsi Center for an East-West showdown. The opening face-off is at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, October 26, and you can witness it live on Altitude Sports & Entertainment.
Ottawa Senators vs. Colorado Avalanche Odds
Colorado enters the matchup as the noticeable favorite with a moneyline of -230. The line for Ottawa sits at +190 and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Colorado is 6-4 straight up (SU) and has netted 2.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. That win percentage, the league’s fifth-strongest so far this season, is fairly close to what the team produced during last year’s regular season (43-39). Through 10 regular season matches, six of the team’s games have gone under the total, while four have gone over and none have pushed. The team’s 2-2 SU at home thus far.
The Avalanche have converted on 24.3 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked fourth overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 88.9 percent of all penalties.
As a team, the Avalanche have been penalized 5.4 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 year ago, the team’s been forced to kill penalties for a noteworthy 12.2 minutes per outing this season.
With a .953 save percentage and 32.0 saves per game, Semyon Varlamov (four wins, three losses, and two OT losses) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Avs this year. If Colorado decides to give him a rest, however, the team may roll with Philipp Grubauer (2-1-1 record, .925 save percentage, 2.68 goals against average).
Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon will both be focal points for the Avalanche. Rantanen (16 points) is up to four goals and 12 assists and has recorded two or more points four times this year. MacKinnon has eight goals and seven assists to his name and has notched a point in nine games.
On the other hand, Ottawa is 4-4 straight up (SU) and has netted 2.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through eight regular season matches, five of its games have gone over the total, while two have gone under the total and just one has pushed. The Senators are 1-1 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Sens have scored on 25.9 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 16.5 percent of their extra-man opportunities in 2017-18 (a percentage that was ranked just 26th in the NHL). The team has gone from successfully defending 76.1 percent of opponent power plays (ranked 27th overall last season) to 71.4 percent in 2018-19.
Ottawa’s skaters have been whistled for penalties 4.3 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed some from the 3.5 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.1 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 9.1 minutes per matchup this season.
Craig Anderson (3.14 goals against average and .915 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Ottawa. Anderson is averaging 33.7 saves per game and has four wins, three losses, and one OT loss to his credit.
Thomas Chabot (three goals, seven assists) has been one of the top offensive playmakers for the visiting Senators.
Ottawa Senators vs. Colorado Avalanche Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Notes
After winning two of their three shootouts last year, the Avalanche are off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Ottawa was 2-7 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
The under has hit in four of Colorado’s last five games.
Ottawa skaters recorded 24.0 hits per game last season, while the Avalanche logged 20.4 hits per matchup.
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