NHL Series pick
Colorado +425 over NASHVILLE

BEST LINES:  Pinnacle +431 BET365 +425 SportsInteraction +430 5DIMES +430

Posted on Wednesday April 11 before Game 1

Colorado +431 over NASHVILLE

Series pick – Begins Thursday, April 12

9:35 PM EST The Avalanche have been called a "nice story" and "very cool" for turning around their fortunes and making these playoffs after one of the franchise's worst seasons in 2016-17. There are no fancy stats or spreadsheets that are going to tell you to bet Colorado in this series, but at a price like this, it's worth taking a shot. There was a time when the Pepsi Center was one of the toughest buildings to play in. The fans in Denver were spoiled when a Nordiques team featuring the dynamic duo of future Hall of Famers Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg made the move from Quebec City, but they rewarded their new team with one of the fullest, loudest barns in the NHL. If that weren't enough, Christmas would come early in 1995 when the Avs stole arguably the greatest goaltender of a generation in Patrick Roy from the Canadiens. A Stanley Cup win in year one certainly set the bar in the Mile High City. 22 years after that first Cup win and the Avalanche are finally headed in the right direction once again. This is going to be a tough building to play in during these playoffs. 

Colorado features not only the best player on the ice, but also the top line in this series. Nathan MacKinnon was just three months old when Patty Roy was dealt, but now that he's a full grown big leaguer, the former number one overall pick is a Hart Trophy contender in his fifth season. MacKinnon is joined by Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen and all three have a Corsica player rating of at least 74.4 with the Avs MVP leading the way at 83.9. Colorado might not run as deep as the Preds, but it does feature a nice supporting cast that includes defensemen Tyson Barrie and the lesser known Samuel Girard, also on defense, who is absolutely for real. The loss of starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov is just one of the many reasons the Avalanche are being discredited in the market, but backup Jonathan Bernier has been integral to the team's success this season. Bernier appeared in 37 games and posted a 2.85 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. When the Avs went on their best run, a 10-game winning streak in January, it was Bernier who backed them to nine of those victories.

What a difference a year can make. Last season, the Predators were a plucky underdog to the top-seeded Blackhawks. Not many in the market had the Preds sweeping the more experienced 'Hawks, but that's exactly what happened. Nashville rode that wave all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals and becoming just about everybody's new second favorite team along the way. The party atmosphere down in The District of Music City U.S.A. was certainly one of the most talked about aspects of the Preds' improbable run. We're always preaching value so to see Nashville go from being a +150 pooch against Chicago last year to spotting over 5-1 versus the Avs just one year later is a real eye-opener. The Preds were a #8 seed last year and were playing with house money. This year they are expected to not only make short work of the Avalanche but once again make it to the finals. This is not nearly as big of an upset as the oddsmakers would have you believe. We still don't trust Pekka Rinne and the Preds defense is more concerned with scoring goals than stopping the opposition. The media is filling their heads with “just show up” and you’ll beat these playoff newbies. That maybe so but once again, there are things we know for sure….Colorado absolutely has the best player in this series and best line. They are also a young, energetic squad, talented team that has momentum on their side and that makes them dangerous. Give us one game in Nashville this weekend and hedging options open up big time. It could happen.

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Our Pick

Colorado +425 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 8.50)

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Chicago +167 over Ottawa