The Colorado Avalanche head into the new NHL season as the betting favorites to win the 2021 Stanley Cup. They’ll start their quest at home Wednesday with a 10:30 p.m. ET puck drop against the St. Louis Blues in the Ball Arena. Below, we analyze the Blues-Avalanche NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Blues at Avalanche: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:05 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Blues +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Avalanche -145 (bet $145 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Blues +1.5 (-225) | Avalanche -1.5 (+185)
- Over/Under: 5.5 (O: -120 | U: +100)
Blues at Avalanche: Projected starting goalies
Jordan Binnington (30-13-7, .912 SV%, 2.56 GAA) vs. Philipp Grubauer (18-12-4, .916 SV%, 2.63 GAA)
Binnington regressed slightly from a stellar rookie season in which he finished second in Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) and 10th in Hart Trophy (MVP) voting. He’ll look to bounce back with the Blues having shaken off their Stanley Cup hangover.
Grubauer and Pavel Francouz both return for the Avalanche following the team’s second-round playoff exit last year. Grubauer’s expected to get the start in the season-opener and have the first crack at securing No. 1 duties.
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Blues at Avalanche: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Blues 4, Avalanche 3
Money line (ML)
Take the value with the BLUES (+120) as underdogs to open the season. The 2018-19 Stanley Cup champs lost in six games to the Vancouver Canucks in the first rounds of last year’s playoffs, but they’re still viewed as contenders in 2021 with odds of +400 to win the West Division; the Avalanche are the favorites at +150.
The Blues lost defensemen Alex Pietrangelo (free agency) and Jay Bouwmeester (retirement) this offseason, but Torey Krug was added in free agency and will jump right in on the top pairing.
Binnington has the edge in the goaltending matchup. He went 2-2 with a total of 14 goals allowed in four games against the Avs last year, but he won his first two starts of the season against them.
Against the spread (ATS)
PASS on the spread.
The Avalanche have the talent up front to outscore any team any day of the week and when things are going well, they’ll be on the right side of plenty of blowouts this year. The Blues’ key to victory will be Binnington stealing the show. Stick with the value of the Blues’ money line
Over/Under (O/U)
The OVER 5.5 (-120) is the strongest play, as it will be most nights for Colorado.
The Blues are still without RW Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder) for the start of the season, but W Mike Hoffman was added late in free agency and bolsters a strong top-six forward group.
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