Despite Montréal's recent 'hot' form and home advantage, Colorado enters as the betting favorite, largely due to a superior goaltender matchup with Scott Wedgewood. However, the Avalanche are significantly hampered by key injuries, including captain Landeskog and potentially top defenseman Toews, and are looking to rebound from a low-shot performance. The Canadiens, facing their own goaltending concerns and a tight playoff race, will look to avenge a prior 7-2 loss in this rivalry game.
Montréal is moderately affected by injuries, with two key players, Patrik Laine and Alex Newhook, confirmed out. Colorado, however, faces a high injury impact, with captain Gabriel Landeskog and Logan O'Connor out, and critical players Ross Colton and top defenseman Devon Toews listed as questionable. The potential absence or limited play of Toews, combined with Landeskog's definite absence, significantly impacts the Avalanche.
Based on the single recent head-to-head game, Colorado won decisively. However, one game is not enough to determine if either team dominates this matchup.
The spread for Colorado -1.5 saw a slight move from +177 to +180. Colorado's moneyline odds moved from -135 to -130. The total line for Over 6.5 remained at -125.
Colorado holds a significant advantage in goaltending with Scott Wedgewood's strong season statistics and previously dominated Montréal 7-2 in their last encounter. While the Avalanche are heavily impacted by key injuries, including captain Landeskog and potentially top defenseman Toews, they are still favored by oddsmakers. Nathan MacKinnon will be motivated to break his goalless streak, and the team will look to rebound from a recent loss, leveraging their overall talent and goaltending edge to overcome the injury challenges.