The Colorado Avalanche (6-3-0) and Minnesota Wild (5-4-0) play the second half of their back-to-back Sunday at Xcel Energy Center. The puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET following Colorado’s 5-1 win Saturday. Below, we analyze the Avalanche-Wild NHL odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Avalanche at Wild: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:35 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Avalanche -155 (bet $155 to win $100) | Wild +130 (bet $100 to win $130)
- Against the spread/ATS: Avalanche -1.5 (+170) | Wild +1.5 (-200)
- Over/Under: 6 (O: +100 | U: -120)
Avalanche at Wild: Projected starting goalies
Hunter Miska (0-1-0, .885 SV%, 3.10 GAA) vs. Cam Talbot (2-1-0, .925 SV%, 2.34 GAA)
Miska, 25, will make his second career NHL start after stopping 23 of 26 shots in a road loss against the Los Angeles Kings Jan. 21. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Miska, who’s from North Branch, Minnesota.
Talbot stopped 11 of 12 shots in a 4-1 Wild win over the San Jose Sharks in his last appearance. He left after the first period due to a lower-body injury. The veteran is 4-2-0 against the Avs for his career but with an unimpressive .884 save percentage and 3.31 goals against average.
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Avalanche at Wild: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Wild 4, Avalanche 3
Money line (ML)
Take the WILD (+130) for an upset on home ice after they took a 5-1 loss Saturday. The Avalanche are pivoting to their inexperienced third-string goalie and the injury absence of D Devon Toews (foot) will now have a greater impact than it did for veteran Philipp Grubauer.
The Avs outshot the Wild 33-20 Saturday and went 2-for-7 on the power play while Minnesota failed to score on either of just two chances with the man advantage.
Minnesota takes the sixth-most minutes in penalties per game at 11.3 but Colorado also averages 8.7 penalty minutes per game. A better-disciplined effort from Wild head coach Dean Evason’s bunch will help keep the Avs offense in check.
The Wild are second-to-last in the NHL with a power-play percentage of just 5.56, but there’s some natural progression coming for that unit. Expect it to come against the inexperienced Miska.
Against the spread (ATS)
Grab some insurance with WILD +1.5 (-200) following Saturday’s shellacking. Colorado and Minnesota rank third and eighth, respectively, in scoring chances for at 5-on-5. Some better goaltending for the Wild and a few more chances against Miska will help flip the script from Saturday.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take the OVER 6 (+100) after Saturday’s goal total of 6 topped a line of 5.5. Both teams are at the top of the league in generating scoring chances at full strength and the Wild should see a boost in conversion against Miska.
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