The Colorado Avalanche (30-9-4) play the first part of a three-game set against the St. Louis Blues (19-18-6) Thursday with an 8 p.m. ET puck drop at Enterprise Center. Below, we analyze the Avalanche-Blues odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Avalanche return to the ice for the first time since April 14 in St. Louis. They had three straight games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. G Philipp Grubauer, RW Joonas Donskoi and RW Mikko Rantanen are on the protocol list.
The Blues dropped consecutive games against the Avalanche and the Arizona Coyotes, both one-goal games. They have been a bit erratic, as they also have a 9-1 win over the red-hot Minnesota Wild April 9, and a 3-1 win over the playoff-bound Vegas Golden Knights across their past five outings.
Avalanche at Blues: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:30 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Avalanche -150 (bet $150 to win $100) | Blues +125 (bet $100 to win $125)
- Against the spread/ATS: Avalanche -1.5 (+165) | Blues +1.5 (-200)
- Over/Under: 6 (O: -105 | U: -115)
Avalanche at Blues: Projected starting goalies
Devan Dubnyk (4-9-2, 3.17 GAA, .899 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Jordan Binnington (12-13-5, 2.71 GAA, .908 SV%)
Dubnyk made his Avalanche debut April 14 in St. Louis and stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced for a win. He is expected to run it back with Grubauer in the COVID protocol. Dubnyk has won two of his past three starts against the Blues dating back to his time with the San Jose Sharks.
Binnington has dropped two in a row after it looked like he was showing some signs of life. He allowed just one goal in each of his last two wins against Vegas and Minnesota. He hasn’t been terrible, but he has been subpar.
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Avalanche at Blues: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Blues 4, Avalanche 3
Money line (ML)
The BLUES (+125) are a value play at home, as the Avalanche will not be whole, and Vezina Trophy candidate Grubauer is on the shelf.
Dubnyk is a huge step down, and the Blues should be able to capitalize on home ice.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The Blues +1.5 (-200) will cost you two times your potential return, and that’s just too risky, even if the Avalanche have their backup and one of their top offensive players out of the lineup while needing to knock off some rust.
AVOID.
Over/Under (O/U)
The OVER 6 (-105) is the play, even though Dubnyk was pretty sharp in his team debut. He has just been too erratic, and Binnington has also struggled. The offense will reign supreme.
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