Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins will meet in Wednesday’s action of the NHL 2021-22. The home side has played very well recently, and they want to keep up where they left off. The visitors fight for the post-season spot, and they look forward to staying in the top four.
Colorado entered a winning streak, which they wish to keep intact. The hosts are full of confidence, and they want to continue playing at a very high level. On the other hand, Boston’s form has been shaky recently, but they still control their fate. The away side wants to stay in the playoffs zone and get back on the winning track.
Colorado Avalanche – Can they continue their winning streak?
The Avalanche have been running hot lately, as they managed to celebrate seven times in a row. Colorado tasted a defeat only once on the previous 13 occasions, and that excellent streak launched them to the top of the Central Division. They are at a 29-8-3 record, being four points ahead of the Predators and having four games in hand. Although they were not so efficient in their latest game against Chicago, the Avs were unbeatable in the back. Pavel Francouz led them to a 2-0 victory by saving the Blackhawks’ 24 shots.
Nazem Kadri tops the Avs offensive charts with 53 points, including a team-high 36 assists. Mikko Rantanen has also been very productive, collecting 49 points and being Colorado’s top scorer with 22 goals. Nathan MacKinnon also managed to reach a 40-point mark (43), while Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog chipped in with 39 points each. On the goal, Darcy Kuemper enjoyed most of the action with 28 appearances, having a .913 save percentage and allowing 2.63 goals per contest.
Expected Line-Up: Darcy Kuemper, Samuel Girard, Cale Makar, Andre Burakovsky, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen
with best odds
Boston Bruins – Will they bounce back with a win?
The Bruins are very active in the playoffs hunt, as they sit in 4th place in the Atlantic Division. They are at a 24-13-2 record, being eight points ahead of the Red Wings. Although they suffered two defeats in the previous four rounds, Boston can be satisfied with their recent displays. However, they need to do better than against the Ducks, when they lost 5-3. Tuukka Rask can not be happy with his performance in that match, as he had a poor .815 save percentage.
Brad Marchand has been Boston’s most dominant player in the offense, as he has a total of 45 points. At the same time, he is the Bruins’ top scorer with 20 goals and the best assistant with 25. David Pastrnak has produced 37 points, Patrice Bergeron has contributed with 32 points, while two other skaters chipped in with 25+ points. On the other hand, the Bruins were most successful with Linus Ullmark on the goal, as they won 14 times with him between the pipes. Ullmark has a solid .915 save percentage, conceding 2.55 goals per contest.
Expected Line-Up: Jeremy Swayman, Derek Forbort, Charlie McAvoy, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak
Expert Pick #1 – Avalanche to win (Inc. OT and Pen.) @-180
Colorado has been smoking hot lately, and although Boston is a team that could upset them, I don’t think it will happen on Wednesday. The Avs are strong favorites in this matchup, and I believe they will meet the expectations. Therefore, I’ll back the hosts as my first pick.
Expert Pick #2 – Over 6 @-120
The Avs haven’t been involved in many efficient matches recently, but I’ll go with the Over as my second bet. Boston has been very productive lately and might provide some problems to Colorado’s defense. The Over cashed four times in their last five matches.
Expert Pick #3 – Avalanche Over 3.5 @-110
I’ll go with a bit higher odds for the third pick compared to the first two. Colorado has a very talented offense, and they scored at least four goals six times in the previous seven encounters against the Bruins.
