Two of the NHL’s best power play teams, the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche clash at the Pepsi Center. This Central Division matchup will get going at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, November 30 and it’s being televised live on Altitude 2.
St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche Odds
Playing the role of favorite will be Colorado (-160), whereas St. Louis is a dog displaying moneyline odds of +140 and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -110 for the over and -110 for the under.
The Avalanche are 15-10 straight up (SU) and have netted moneyline bettors 4.5 units this season. That winning percentage, ranked fifth in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 43-39 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Through 25 regular season outings, 13 of its games have gone over the total, while 12 have gone under and none have pushed. The team is 6-4 SU at home this season.
Colorado currently touts the second-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s converted on 31.7 percent of their extra-man opportunities this year. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 14th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.9 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Colorado has been penalized 4.2 times per game overall this season, and 3.2 per game over its last five matchups at home. The team has had to kill penalties for just 6.6 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
With a .927 save percentage and 29.4 saves per game, Semyon Varlamov (9-7-2) has been the best option in goal for the Avalanche this season. If head coach Jared Bednar decides to rest him, however, the Avs could roll with Philipp Grubauer (6-3-3 record, .904 save percentage, 3.06 goals against average).
The Avs will continue seeking leadership from Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon. Rantanen (42 points) has tallied 10 goals and 32 assists and has recorded two or more points 13 times this year. MacKinnon has 18 goals and 23 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 19 contests.
St. Louis has lost 9.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year and is currently 8-15 straight up (SU). Through 23 regular season outings, 11 of its games have gone over the total, while another 11 have gone under the total and just one has pushed. St. Louis’ 2-7 SU as the road team this season.
St. Louis has scored on 24.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for eighth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 10th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.7 percent of all opponent power plays.
St. Louis’ skaters have been whistled for penalties 3.8 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five road outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jake Allen (25.9 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for St. Louis. Allen owns a 6-12-3 record, while registering a .894 save percentage and 3.32 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive push for the visiting Blues will be Ryan O’Reilly (12 goals, 15 assists) and Vladimir Tarasenko (eight goals, 11 assists).
St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche Betting Picks
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Notes
Betting Trends
For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their past five matchups.
Colorado has given up just 2.3 goals per game (while scoring 4.7 per contest) in its past six games (the team is a perfect 6-0 SU during that span).
Over Colorado’s last ten outings, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-1 in those games).
St. Louis skaters registered 23.1 hits per game last season, while the Avs forced 20.4 hits per contest.
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