Avalanche at Coyotes Betting Preview/Player Prop

A pair of West Division rivals will meet up on Friday night in the NHL after postponing their previous meeting. The West Division has been hit extremely hard by COVID-19 so far this season, and that has complicated things in terms of the playoff race.

Colorado enters this game with just 19 points on the season, which puts them in a surprising sixth place in the West Division. The Avalanche are still one of the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup, but they need to get things going soon.

Arizona got off to a great start this season, but they are starting to head in the wrong direction. The Coyotes currently have 21 points and sit in fourth place in the West Division.

The Colorado Avalanche are (-175) in this matchup with the Arizona Coyotes (+147).

Avs Looking For Momentum

Every time Colorado seems to get some rhythm going, their season has been shut down due to COVID-19. The Avs are looking to build some momentum heading into March, and it could start with a win in this game. 

Colorado scores 2.88 goals per game, but their excellent defense and goaltending have been more prominent factors in their wins. Cale Makar (one goal, 12 assists) is tied for third among defensemen with 0.93 points per game. Samuel Girard (two goals, nine assists) is hot on his tail.

Goaltender Philipp Grubauer has been terrific in the blue paint this season, stopping nearly 93 percent of the shots he has faced. The Avs have done a great job of limiting scoring opportunities for their opponents, but this team wants to win by scoring goals.

Coyotes Continue to Score

The Arizona Coyotes come into play on Friday night averaging just 2.63 goals per game, but that offense has gotten better of late. Arizona has scored four goals in each of their last two games, which has propelled them to a playoff spot in the West.

The Coyotes have converted on 20 percent of their attempts on the power play, which has led to their recent uptick in scoring. Christian Dvorak leads the team with nine goals, while Connor Garland leads the way with 18 total points.

Arizona is giving up less than 2.8 goals per game, and they will need to be on top of their game to slow down the Avalanche. Darcy Kuemper has done most of the work in the net for Arizona, and he continues to shine, allowing just 2.41 goals per game. 

Coyotes Keep on Rolling

The Colorado Avalanche have not been able to get things going this season, and they continue to deal with adversity. The offense, which should be scoring in droves, is still sputtering.

Arizona has been rolling on offense of late, and they should keep that up at home against the Avalanche. Don’t expect a ton of goal-scoring in this game, but the Coyotes will do the most damage.

Bet the Arizona Coyotes moneyline (+147) over the Colorado Avalanche in this West Division showdown.

Player Prop

Nathan MacKinnon has been a points machine for the Avalanche, registering 97, 99 and 93 over the last 3 seasons. Included in that production are a steady dose of assists. In fact, you can't get any more steady than MacKinnon as his assist totals for those seasons are 58, 58 and 58.

The Avs center is well on his way to another productive year as he leads the team with 18 points and 14 assists. He's been held pointless the last two games despite averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. The last time MacKinnon was held pointless in consecutive games earlier this month, he broke out with a 3-point performance, including 2 assists, against the Golden Knights on February 20.

Expect MacKinnon to have a strong bounce back again tonight and take the Over 0.5 Assists (-120) for the Avs star.