The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars resume their Western Conference Semifinals best-of-seven series when they battle in Game 6 Wednesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, starting at 8 p.m. ET. We analyze the Avalanche-Stars NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Heading into Game 5, the Avalanche had their backs up against the wall as they turned to G Michael Hutchinson in goal facing elimination. Head coach Jared Bednar looked like a genius, as the Avs responded with five first-period goals and they never looked back, as Hutch secured his first-career playoff win.
Avalanche vs. Stars: Projected starting goalies
Michael Hutchinson vs. Anton Khudobin
Hutchinson is expected to make his second consecutive start with both Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz on the mend and unfit to play. Hutchinson turned aside 31 of the 34 shots, which was good. But he also can’t rely upon the Avs staking him to a 5-0 lead after 20 minutes, either. If the Avs do go off offensively, watch out for Andre Burakovsky. He has five goals in his past three when his team faces elimination.
Dallas interim head coach Rick Bowness elected to go with Ben Bishop in net for Game 5, and it was a disaster. Bishop was rocked for four goals in the first 14 minutes, getting the quick hook in favor of Khudobin. While the Stars chipped away a little bit, the hole was much too deep to recover. The good news for Dallas is that they have two more cracks to burst Colorado’s bubble.
Get some action on the Avs vs. Stars! Place your legal NHL bet on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Bet now!
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 6:55 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Dallas 5, Colorado 3
Moneyline (ML)
The STARS (+105) are short dogs. Take advantage. Remember, the Avalanche (-129) are down to their third-string goalie, and while he did look good, he was staked to a 5-0 lead. Hutchinson has just one playoff win to his name, and he won’t leave the bubble with two. This is such a great value, so jump on it.
New to sports betting? A winning $10 bet on the Stars returns a profit of $10.50.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
This one has the potential to be a higher scoring game, so playing the puck line might be a bit maddening at times. Stars (+1.5, -250) is just too expensive. If you like Dallas, bet them straight up. AVOID betting the PL.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 6.5 (+100) is a bit on the high side, but we have seen at least seven total goals in each of the previous five games in this series. Hutchinson won’t be nearly as effective in this one, and another installment of fire-wagon hockey will be played Wednesday. Enjoy the Over.
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