The Boston Bruins (2-2-0) will travel to Denver to face the struggling Colorado Avalanche (0-3-0) at Ball Arena.
Both teams are eager to rebound from their recent losses, but the Avalanche are desperately seeking their first win of the season. This just isn’t normal for such a good team.
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Despite Colorado’s talent on paper, they’ve had a rough start to the year. This is particularly true with regards to their defense, and on top of that, they face a Bruins team that's shown a bit more sharpness.
The Avalanche enter as slight favorites on the moneyline (-122), with the Bruins at +102. The puck line sees Boston +1.5 (-238) and Colorado -1.5 (+195), while the total is set at 6.5 goals, with Over (-102) and Under (-118).
Colorado’s home-ice advantage could be a big factor heading into this game, but both teams have struggled defensively early this season.
With the Avalanche allowing a whopping average of 6.67 goals per game and the Bruins not far behind at 3.75 goals against per game, the Over bet sure looks tempting to us.
Boston comes in after a 4-3 loss to Florida, making that their second defeat to the Panthers this season.
The Bruins, however, have fared better in games against other opponents, winning against Montreal and Los Angeles in the two games before that, but those were also at home.
Offensive production has been fairly decent, with the team averaging 3.75 goals per game, led by Elias Lindholm and Mark Kastelic, who each have five points so far.
Goaltending has been a weak spot, though. Jeremy Swayman has a .893 save percentage and a 2.98 GAA, while backup Joonas Korpisalo has struggled even more in his lone appearance.
Defensively, the Bruins need to tighten things up a bit, as they’ve allowed four or more goals in three of their four games. If they can reduce the defensive errors, Boston should be able to capitalize on Colorado’s own shaky defense.
This is unlike the Bruins we’re more familiar with, but with only a handful of games in the record books, anything is bound to happen.
The Avalanche are winless through three games. They’ve also conceded at least six goals in each.
Their latest 6-2 defeat to the New York Islanders highlighted the massive defensive gaps, with starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev sporting an ugly 6.58 GAA and a .787 save percentage. These are Peewee numbers.
Offensively, Colorado isn’t completely lacking.
Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar each have five points, and Mikko Rantanen has found the net three times as well.
However, the goaltending and defensive breakdowns have been insurmountable so far, and even at home, the Avalanche’s defense looks vulnerable as they’ve lost the last 2 games at home.
They’ve struggled with puck management and defensive zone coverage, issues that really need to be corrected if they hope to notch their first win.
Like the Bruins, this seems abnormal for the team. However, they’ve made a few changes in the offseason and it doesn’t look like it’s paying off for them.
Despite Colorado's home ice and their edge in the moneyline, the Bruins are the better bet in this Wednesday night matchup.
Boston has been inconsistent but still more disciplined than Colorado (both offensively and defensively), whose defensive woes and goaltending struggles are too glaring to overlook. Boston has also covered the puck line in their last six meetings with the Avalanche, while Colorado has failed to cover in seven of their last eight.
Both teams' defensive struggles have us looking at a potentially high-scoring game, making the Over 6.5 goals a solid bet.
However, the safer bet is backing the Bruins to win outright. Their slight edge in form and consistency, combined with Colorado’s leaky defense, makes Boston a good pick to get the road victory.
Final Score Prediction: Bruins 5, Avalanche 4
Best Bet: Boston Bruins Moneyline (+102)
We don’t think Colorado is done losing just yet.
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