The Colorado Avalanche (41-19-8) visit the Los Angeles Kings (27-35-6) for a Monday night tilt at Staples Center. Puck drop is set for 10:30 p.m. ET. We analyze the Avalanche-Kings odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips around this matchup.
Avalanche at Kings: Projected starting goalies
Michael Hutchinson vs. Jonathan Quick
Hutchinson has been an AHL-NHL swingman for most of his career. This season the recently-turned 30-year-old has compiled a 3.47 goals against average and an .888 save percentage through 16 games between Toronto and Colorado. Acquired Feb. 24, Hutchinson is making his second start for the Avs.
Quick has been enjoying his best stretch of the season of late. The 13-year NHL veteran owned a .894 SV% through Feb. 6. He’s logged a .950 SV% in six games since and is coming off a 36-save shutout of the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday. For the season, Quick has a 2.83 GAA and .903 SV%. He’s been better at home (2.36, .918) and has stopped 62-of-64 shots (.969 SV%) against these Avs.
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Avalanche at Kings: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list.
Odds last updated at 12:15 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Colorado 3, Los Angeles 2
Moneyline (ML)
The Avalanche have been a solid play in most games over the second half of the season, but this goalie matchup tamps down confidence levels. It makes the straight-up price of -143 too difficult to reconcile with a small profit. PASS.
New to sports betting and confused about moneyline odds? In this case, a $14.30 winning bet on Colorado would return a profit of $10.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The Kings have allowed just 28.5 shots on goal per contest while going 8-1-1 over their last 10 games. The Avs haven’t finished out a road trip of three or more games with a multi-goal win since Dec. 7. PASS ON THE COLORADO LINE (-1.5, +185).
Over/Under (O/U)
Recent team trends point to an Under in this one. The Under is 10-2 in the Avs’ last dozen games against losing teams. Quick’s roll — and the Kings’ better control of their own zone — makes for a confirmation on the lean. The best bet of the three here is a low-confidence play on the UNDER 5.5 (-106).
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