Avalanche Look to Stay Perfect in Game 1 vs Golden Knights

The Colorado Avalanche were one of two teams to sweep their first-round opponent, and now they will try to beat the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday as solid home favorites in Game 1 of their West Division second-round playoff series. In fact, the Avalanche are riding an impressive nine-game winning streak overall going back to the regular season.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Colorado is the hottest team in the league right now and was the best during the regular season as well, so this big number is certainly justified in its favor. The Avalanche’s dominance in sweeping the St. Louis Blues also plays a major role, especially considering they won all four games by three goals or more.

The oddsmakers have not made a number high enough for this team in the playoffs yet, so some bettors will probably still think they are getting a bargain. That said, this is a lower number than any of the St. Louis games, so Vegas is getting a little respect. But backers of the Golden Knights could drop this number a bit before puck drop, giving Avalanche supporters an even lower price.

Vegas News & Notes

If Vegas played its entire first-round series like the team did in Game 7 on Friday, then the Minnesota Wild might have been swept as well. The truth is, the Golden Knights are a much more potent offensive team with leading scorer Max Pacioretty, who had not played since May 1 due to an undisclosed injury. Pacioretty’s mere presence gave them a huge boost in their 6-2 rout of the Wild as -200 home favorites, as he scored a goal while Mattias Janmark had his first career hat trick to fuel the offense.

Prior to that, Vegas totaled just two goals in losing the previous two games, which evened the series after the team led 3-1 through the first four. The Golden Knights have won twice at Ball Arena already and they should be fresher, so they hope those factors will give them an edge.

Colorado News & Notes

Colorado worked hard to earn home ice throughout the playoffs down the stretch of the regular season and captured the Presidents’ Trophy over Vegas due to more regulation wins in a tiebreaker since both finished with the same number of points (82). That could very well be the difference in this series, especially if it comes down to a Game 7.

Until then, the Avalanche simply need to continue the same formula that has helped them reel off nine consecutive wins – offense, offense and offense. Colorado has scored less than three goals once during the winning streak, and that came in a 2-1 victory at Vegas on May 10. Take that game out, and the Avalanche have averaged 4.6 goals in the other eight. Can they keep it rolling though when they have not played since last Sunday?