Do the Canucks upset the best team in the league?
Who hasn’t yet, who wants to again – next victim: Vancouver. On Wednesday, it’s the Canucks who get to play the best team in the league at the moment – or rather have to at the moment. Colorado not only has the best record in the league, they have also lost the fewest home games.
So of course it will be difficult for the Canucks to make the most of their minimal chance of a play-off place. They are currently four points behind 8th place in the West, so theoretically they could still make the post-season.
In practice, however, they would have to score in Colorado, which the Oilers managed to do at least partially. They at least secured a point in the overtime loss, which the Canucks would probably be satisfied with.
However, we dare to doubt that they can achieve this, as Vancouver is currently also rated a little weaker than the Oilers around Draisaitl and Co. For Avalanche vs. Canucks, our prediction is therefore a success for the home team, which thus remains on the best path towards the Presidents’ Trophy.
Colorado Avalanche – Statistics & Current Form
All roads lead to Colorado – at least when it comes to the favourites for this year’s Stanley Cup.
Offensive prowess impressive
Most of all, of course, their offense is the measure of the NHL. Although they “only” score the second most goals in the league with 3.83, their offence is clearly rated as the best in the league. MacKinnon, Burakovsky, Rantanen, Kadri – we could list numerous other top stars.
But that is no coincidence, as they had the best offence in the league last year with 3.52 goals per game. The fact that they are now even more well-rehearsed is not only noticeable in the numbers, but also on the ice. One cog fits into the other.
Only weakness: Face-offs
If there is actually one area they can still work on, it would be the face-offs. They win only the second fewest of all teams with 46.8%, which can be especially important in close playoff games.
Otherwise, however, we see them fully prepared – also for Wednesday’s duel with the Canucks. That’s why a bet on the Avalanche is our No. 1 betting option for Colorado against Vancouver, preferably even combined with expected sub-par points, as Vancouver’s offence is currently stumbling.
Key Players:
G: Pavel Francouz
D: Devon Toews
D: Cale Makar
LW: Valeri Nichuskin
C: Nathan MacKinnon
RW: Mikko Rantanen
Vancouver Canucks – Statistics & current form
After an interim high comes an interim low – that’s the best way to describe the course of the last few weeks from the Canucks’ point of view. After five wins from six games in mid-February, they recently lost three of four games, which put a serious damper on their play-off hopes.
Especially offensively, they fell back into old patterns and scored only two or less goals three times in these games. This makes it difficult to win games in the NHL. Moreover, the only slip up, the 6:3 against the Devils, only came against the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.
Good foundation of young players
The future looks bright in Vancouver, though. Unlike their Los Angeles counterparts, who we also featured recently, their core is all young and hungry players. Of their eight top scorers, not a single one has reached the 30-year mark.
Even top scorer J.T. Miller (71 scoring points) just celebrated his 29th birthday. Hughes (22), Pettersen (23) or Hoglander (21) can even be described as youngsters. This inexperience inevitably leads to phases in which consistency is lacking.
Weak period at an inopportune time
The current slump comes at a bad time for the Canucks, as it means they will miss the postseason. A win in Colorado would help, of course, but only six teams have won there this season.
In that respect, we don’t necessarily trust the stumbling Canadians to do so and would favour the odds on the Avs in Colorado against Vancouver. Sub-points have also been a popular betting alternative on Canucks games of late.
Key Players:
G: Thatcher Demko
D: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
D: Tyler Myers
LW: Tanner Pearson
C: J.T. Miller
RW: Conor Garland
Colorado Avalanche – Vancouver Canucks Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
The direct comparison also underpins the clear favouritism of the Avalanche. Four of the last five meetings went to Colorado, including both meetings this season (7:1 and 4:2). The balance of power for Wednesday is therefore clear.
Only a great day from Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko, which he has had from time to time this season, could provide some suspense. If he plays for the Canucks, then the chances that the total number of goals will not go up will definitely increase.
Thus, for Avalanche vs. Canucks, the odds on subpar points are just as worth keeping an eye on as the odds on Colorado. Even a -1.5 handicap is still good to bet on this matchup, as both games this season also ended with at least a two-goal difference.
Colorado Avalanche – Vancouver Canucks Tip
The Avalanche continue to march ahead, even if they have been a little low-scoring of late. In their last five games they scored only 2.8 goals on average, but still won four of those games.
That makes for a clear favourite bet on Wednesday. On Avs vs. Canucks, a bet on Colorado + Under 6.5 is our bet, taking into account both the home team’s favourite status and the declining goals.
Alternatively, a bet on Mikko Rantanen to score is also possible. In his last four games, the right wing has scored four goals, making him even more prolific on the road than Avs top scorer Nathan MacKinnon.
