Boston Bruins Vs. Colorado Avalanche Odds, Picks, and Predictions (1/26/22)

The Bruins are 24-13-2 for 50 points, fourth in the Atlantic Division.  Boston lost to Anaheim at home on Monday, 5-3.  The Bruins are 2-2 in their last four games, scoring 2.75 goals per game.  On Monday, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-0, their 16^th straight home victory and seventh straight win overall.  Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen each scored a goal in the win over Chicago.  The Avalanche are 29-8-3 for 61 points, first place in the Central Division.  Boston visits Colorado on Wednesday, as the Avalanche look for their 17^th straight home win.

Boston Bruins Vs. Colorado Avalanche Betting Odds

Boston is 10-1 in their last 11 games vs. Central Division opponents.  The Bruins are 5-0 in their last five games after allowing five goals or more in their previous game.  Boston is 11-1 in their last 12 when their opponent scores two goals or less in their previous game.  Boston is currently listed as +1800 to win the Stanley Cup this year.   The home team is 4-1 in the last five meetings between Boston and Colorado.  Under is 5-0-1 in Colorado’s last six games following a win.  Under is 3-0-1 in the Avalanche’s last four games after allowing two goals or less in their previous game.  Colorado opened the season at +625 to win the Stanley Cup and is currently the favorite at +500 to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Boston Bruins Betting Odds

Brad Marchand leads the Bruins in points this season with 45 points (20 goals and 25 assists); averaging 1.32 points per game this season.  He has 19 points on the power play (six goals and 13 assists), two shorthanded goals and three game winning goals this year.  He did suffer a shoulder injury last week but has played in the Bruins last two games.  Marchand is a +1, is averaging 19:10 of ice time per game and has delivered 48 hits in 2021-22.  David Pastrnak is Boston’s second leading scorer with 37 points, he’s scored a league leading 12 goals since January 1^st.  He leads the club in game winning goals with four and has scored 13 points on the power play (nine goals and four assists).  Center Patrice Bergeron is third on the team in scoring with 32 points (12 goals and 20 assists).  The four-time Selke Trophy winner is the Bruins leader in plus/minus at +8, while averaging 18:22 of ice time per game.  Bergeron has scored 14 points on the power play (five goals and nine assists) and has scored two game winning goals on the year.  He’s done well at the face-off dot winning 62.7% of his draws.  Taylor Hall in his first full season in Boston has 27 points in 39 games (nine goals and 18 assists).  The 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner has scored seven points on the power play (four goals and three assists) and game winning goal this campaign.

Charlie McAvoy leads the Bruins defensemen is scoring with 25 points this year (six goals and 19 assists).  He leads the club in blocked shots with 64 and is tied for second in hits with 75.  McAvoy is a +6 and is averaging 24:19 of ice time per game in 2021-22.  Matt Grzelcyk has 14 points on the season (two goals and 12 assists) and was out Monday against the Ducks due to an upper body injury.  He is third on the team in blocked shots with 42.  6-4’ defender, Derek Forbort has played in 36 games this season, registering 55 hits and 41 blocked shots.  Brandon Carlo has given the team valuable minutes playing 19:37 a game.  He’s a +1 with 45 blocked shots and 67 hits.

Tuukka Rask returned almost two weeks ago to the Bruins and has struggled.  In two of his four starts he has allowed five goals, including Monday’s loss to the Ducks.  Overall, Rask is 2-2 with a .844 save percentage and a 4.28 GAA.  Linus Ullmark has seen most of the action in net for the Bruins this campaign.  He’s started 19 games going 14-5-0 with a .915 save percentage and a 2.55 GAA.  I would expect Ullmark to be between the pipes for Boston against Colorado on Wednesday.

Colorado Avalanche Betting Odds

The Colorado Avalanche are simply stacked, they have seven players who’ve scored at least 30 points in 2021-22.  Nazem Kadri is third in the NHL in scoring with 52 points (16 points and 36 assists); averaging 1.41 points per game.  He’s a +16 and is averaging 18:54 of ice time per game.  Mikko Rantanen is tied for fifth in the NHL in scoring with 49 points (22 goals and 27 assists); averaging 1.32 points per game.  He’s fifth in the NHL in plus/minus at +23 and is averaging 20:40 of ice time per game.  Nathan MacKinnon is third on the club in scoring with 43 points in 30 games; tied for fifth in the NHL with 34 assists.  The Colorado center is +5 and is averaging 21:49 of ice time per game.  Captain Gabriel Landeskog has played in 32 games this year and has 39 points (15 goals and 24 assists).  In his 11^th season, he’s averaging 20:11 of ice time per game and has won 56% of his draws at the face-off dot.  Left wing Andre Burakovsky has 32 points on the season (14 goals and 18 assists) while averaging 16:18 of ice time per games and is a +7.

Cale Makar might the best defenseman in the NHL at this point.  He’s xxx to win his first Norris Trophy.  In his third season, Makar leads all NHL defensemen with 16 goals and has 39 points, which is fourth among defensemen this year.  He’s blocked 46 shots and has delivered 41 hits in 2021-22.  Finally, he leads Colorado in game winning goals this campaign with four.  Devon Toews has 32 points this year (eight goals and 24 assists); averaging 1.10 points per game.  In his second season with Colorado, he leads the NHL is plus/minus at +34.  Samuel Girard has 23 points in 38 games this season (four goals and 19 assists).  He’s averaging 21:57 of ice time per game and has blocked 51 shots.  Veteran Erik Johnson has played in 40 games in 2021-22.  He leads the Avalanche in blocked shots with 69 and in hits with 92. 

Darcy Kuemper has started 28 games for the Avalanche this year.  He’s 19-5-1 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.63 GAA.  Pavel Francouz had his second shutout of the season as he blanked the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 on Monday evening.  In 2021-22, he’s played in seven games and is 6-1 with a .932 save percentage and a 2.03 GAA. 

Boston Bruins Vs. Colorado Avalanche Picks & Prediction

Boston is scoring 3.1 goals per game, which is 13^th in the league and is third in the NHL in shots taken per game with 35.5.  Defensively they’re allowing 2.7 goals per game, ranked 10^th overall.  Colorado is scoring 4.1 goals per game, which is leads the NHL.  On the defensive side, they’re allowing 3.0 goals per game which ranks 18^th in the league and yielding 30.7 shots per game, 12^th overall. 

At home the Avalanche are 18-2-1 in 2021-22, while the Bruins are five games over .500 on the road this season.  I’ll go with Colorado at home to continue their amazing winning streak with the teams combining for under six goals.