St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche Betting Preview
28 January 2023
There is a full slate of NHL games set to take place on Saturday, including a great rivalry game in Colorado. The Avalanche host the St. Louis Blues, and these two teams always seem to play some competitive and intense games in the Central Division.
St. Louis comes into this game having lost three straight overall, and they just haven’t been as good as expected this year. The Blues are 23-23-3 on the year, and they have to find a way to turn things around in a hurry.
Colorado hasn’t been as good as expected either, and they come into this game with an overall record of 26-18-3. The Avalanche did just go on a nice winning streak, and they still have time to get to the top of the Central Division.
The Avalanche are the moneyline betting favorites in this game at -230.
Blues Struggling to Get Stops
The biggest reason for the inconsistent play from the Blues this season is the fact that they just haven’t been able to get enough goaltending. St. Louis comes into Saturday allowing nearly 3.6 goals per game, and that’s not going to get the job done in the NHL.
Jordan Binnington has had a great NHL career up to this point, but he has gone just 18-16-3 in the blue paint this season. St. Louis has killed off just 75 percent of their penalties, and that is another area that will need to improve.
Jordan Kyrou leads the team with 23 goals and 46 total points, and he will need to have a big game in this one. St. Louis is capable of being a great offensive team, but it doesn’t matter if they can’t get any stops.
Avalanche Just Not Clicking on Offense
The Colorado Avalanche are barely scoring over three goals per game this season, and that’s well short of the pace that they were on a year ago. Mikko Rantanen leads the team with 34 goals and 60 points, but some other Avalanche players are struggling to pitch in on offense.
Colorado has still scored on the power play 25 percent of the time, and they are dangerous with the man advantage. The Avalanche do appear to be starting to take off, and that is going to be a challenge for the Blues to deal with.
Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has gone 19-11-3 in the blue paint this season, and he has kept the Avalanche in the playoff race.
Avalanche Roll to Victory
There is no love lost in this rivalry, and each team is desperate to pick up a win in this game. That could lead to a great battle on the ice, but the Blues just haven’t been living up to their end of the bargain this season.
St. Louis has the ability to score some goals, but it is the lack of defense that is going to do them in on Saturday afternoon. Colorado comes into this game having been playing well this month, and they are going to be sharp in this matchup.
Bet the Colorado Avalanche -1.5 as they are able to roll to a victory by a couple of goals over the St. Louis Blues.
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All Media on this page by Associated Press.
