The Colorado Avalanche (31-16-6) visit the Minnesota Wild (26-22-6) Sunday at Xcel Energy Center for a 7:30 p.m. ET puck drop. We analyze the Avalanche-Wild sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Avalanche at Wild: Projected starting goalies
Pavel Francouz vs. Devan Dubnyk
Francouz hasn’t made an appearance since he stopped 22 of 25 shots in a win over the lowly Detroit Red Wings Jan. 20. The rookie is 12-4-2 through 17 starts and three relief appearances with a 2.45 goals against average and .924 save percentage.
Dubnyk stopped 31 of 33 shots in a win over the Dallas Stars Friday. He is 10-13-2 on the season with a .892 SV% and 3.34 GAA. He has near identical save percentages at home and on the road, but his GAA drops by more than half a goal, as he gets better defensive support on home ice.
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Avalanche at Wild: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list.
Odds last updated at 9 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Avalanche 4, Wild 3
Moneyline (ML)
Both sides ride three-game winning streaks into the head-to-head Central Division rivalry matchup. I’m backing the AVALANCHE (-128) even though they played Saturday and the Wild (+105) had the night off after beating the Stars Friday.
Minnesota is 16-7-4 on home ice, while Colorado is 17-9-2 on the road. The Avs have a goal differential of plus-42 to the minus-11 rating of the Wild. Take the higher-seeded team without enough odds-based incentive to back the Wild.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Avalanche to win in regulation, overtime or a shootout returns a profit of $7.80.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
Side with the chalk and back the WILD (+1.5, -250) to lose by just a goal or win outright. Minnesota leads the head-to-head season series 2-1, having won both of the last two meetings by scores of 6-4 and 3-2. While I like the Avs to pull even in the series Sunday and win outright, the Wild will keep it close.
The Wild are 28-26 against the spread overall and 13-14 at home. The Avalanche are 31-22 ATS overall and 18-10 on the road.
Over/Under (O/U)
Back the OVER 5.5 (-149) with a rusty Francouz and a shaky Dubnyk between the pipes for the Avs and Wild, respectively. The Avalanche are 6-4 against the Over/Under across their last 10 games, while the Wild are 4-4-2 against the number. Minnesota has scored at least three goals in three straight games and Colorado had scored at least three in six straight games before being held to two Saturday by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 211-203
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