The Colorado Avalanche host the Nashville Predators for Game 2 of their opening round. The Avalanche defeated the Predators 7-2 in Game 1, scoring five goals in the opening period. This is where you’ll find everything, including team win odds, the over/under, and point spreads.
Nashville Predators (+310) vs Colorado Avalanche (-400)
NSH: 0-1, 2.00 GF/GP, 7.00 GA/GP
COL: 1-0, 7.00 GF/GP, 2.00 GA/GP
The Predators did very little in Game 1 to give their fans hope of making this a close series after getting filled in for seven goals against. David Rittich was left out to dry in the first period, and Connor Ingram provided his best efforts in two periods to keep his team in it. Nashville got two goals out of leading scorer Matt Duchene, but it was too little, too late. Captain Roman Josi led the team in shots with five, while the third line amassed a combined 17 of Nashville’s 59 hits.
Darcy Kuemper was good when he needed to be but faced just 25 shots in Game 1. The team around him played above and beyond expectations, running up the score to 3-0 in under 10 minutes of play. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen had three-point nights, while Cale Makar put up three points of his own. The team went 2-for-5 on the power play and added salt to the wound with a shorthanded goal. No surprise here that they enter Game 2 as heavy favourites.
Point Spread
Colorado – Win By More Than 2 Goals (-2.5, +115)
The Predators have done well in the regular season when it comes to bouncing back from tough losses. Unfortunately, they also had the luxury of Juuse Saros in goal, which they won’t have for Game 2. Saros will miss a second consecutive game, forcing John Hynes to lean on Rittich and Ingram again. Jeremy Lauzon, who Nashville acquired at this year’s trade deadline, missed Game 1 but could draw in tonight if healthy. He’ll compete with Matt Benning for a spot on the third pairing.
Colorado’s offense is too powerful, and it’s a different beast at home. They’ll look to come flying out of the gate again, and though they may not have another five-goal period, they’ll hope to control the flow of the game. Their puck possession was a big part of Game 1 as they won 58% of the faceoffs and controlled the pace in each period. Even when Nashville controlled the puck for brief stints, all three defensive pairings were up to the task, limiting the opposition to 25 shots and forcing most to the outside.
Total Points
Total Goals Scored – Under 7 (+105)
Seven goals were scored in Game 1, thanks mostly to Nashville’s early-game collapse and Rittich’s struggling. Should the Predators go with Ingram, expect a much closer result. He looked comfortable coming in relief, stopping 30 of 32 shots and giving his team some hope. At the same time, they’ll hope to get offensive contributions from 42-goal scorer Filip Forsberg, who was relatively quiet in Game 1 with two shots on goal and one hit.
We’re expecting a much tighter game, with Nashville’s defense looking to limit the shots against. MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog combined for 11 shots, while the Avalanche got 14 more from their blue line. A closer ratio in puck possession could lead to a tighter score and fewer scoring chances, which is something the Predators hope to achieve. Staying out of the box is another issue, as the Avalanche went 2-for-5 on the man advantage. Another outing like that could spell disaster for Nashville.
Odds via Yahoo and BetMGM.
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