The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars continue their Western Conference Round 2 series when they meet in Game 4 Sunday evening at 6 p.m. ET at Rogers Place in Edmonton. We analyze the Stars-Avalanche NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
The Avalanche battled back with a 6-4 victory in Game 3 after dropping the first two games of the series. The Stars are the home team in Sunday’s contest; it’s a neutral-site affair, but Dallas will have the advantage of final line changes.
Avalanche vs. Stars: Projected starting goalies
Pavel Francouz vs. Anton Khudobin
Francouz is in for G Philipp Grubauer who is out for the rest of the playoffs due to a groin injury. Francouz is a 30-year-old playing his first full season in the league. During the regular season, he logged a 2.41 goals against average and .923 save percentage in 34 games (30 starts). He has posted a .908 SV% over five playoff games.
In the regular season, Khudobin posted a 2.22 GAA and .930 SV%. He plays behind a stout Dallas defense that does credible work in slowing down foes in the neutral zone and mitigating the number of dangerous scoring chances in and around the slot. Khudobin was not at his best in Wednesday’s loss with five goals allowed on 31 shots. Overall in the playoffs, he has been very good on high-danger chances, but he’s also yielded some goals from distance.
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Avalanche vs. Stars: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 10:45 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Colorado 3, Dallas 2
Moneyline (ML)
This series has some muddy analytics, against-the-grain results early, and significant injuries plaguing the once-heavy favorites. It culminates with not much of a lean on any play for this contest.
The line moved toward Dallas at approximately 10:20 a.m. ET and makes for a marginally acceptable price on COLORADO -129.
New to sports betting? A winning $100 bet on the Avalanche would return a profit of $77.72.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The multi-goal side isn’t terribly appealing here, but the price on COLORADO -1.5 (+200) is right. It might take an empty-netter, but the 2-for-1 is north of the risk/reward line, so it’s worthy of a play.
Over/Under (O/U)
The last six Avs’ games and the last four Stars’ games have hit the Over. Colorado injuries and a tighter Game 3 than what the final score tells make for some regression the other way. Six goals is a tough number to beat in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. NO PLAY ON THE OVER 6 (+100)/UNDER 6 (-121).
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