It's No. 1 against No. 4 in the West Division on Friday night, as the St. Louis Blues head to Colorado for a back-to-back at altitude against the first place Avalanche. This weekend will see just the third and fourth games between these two teams in 2021, with the foes entering the weekend having split the series so far.
Here are our best free NHL betting picks and predictions for St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche on Friday, April 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Blues vs Avalanche odds
NHL sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonColorado went up as a -240 favorite Thursday night at FanDuel, peaked at -255 overnight and spent all day at -240, where the moneyline rests at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Avalanche are collecting 88 percent of bets and 89 percent of money. The total opened at 5.5 (Over -128), and that price moved up a few cents to -134, with 81 percent of bets/93 percent of cash on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameSt. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche betting preview
Injuries
Blues: Vince Dunn D (Questionable), Oskar Sundqvist C (Out), Colton Parayko D (Out), Mackenzie MacEachern LW (Out), Ivan Barbashev C (Out), Carl Gunnarsson D (Out).
Avalanche: Logan O'Connor RW (Questionable), Bowen Byram D (Questionable), Matt Calvert LW (Out), Connor Timmins D (Out), Erik Johnson D (Out), Pavel Francouz G (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Avalanche are 9-1 in their last 10 home games. Find more NHL betting trends for Blues vs. Avalanche.
Puck line pick
The Blues are in the midst of a rough stretch, as they are currently riding a four-game losing streak with two wins in their last 10 games. Worse still, their two most recent losses came to the bottom-feeding Ducks — in St. Louis. Now, the Blues are going to have to try to get off the schneid against the high-flying Avs, who boast a 15-4-2 record at home.
After momentarily fading from view during a stretch that saw Colorado hit with injuries and COVID, it has re-entered the picture as a clear-cut Stanley Cup contender. The Avs won 12 of 17 games in March while picking up a point in three of their five losses and ended the month with a wild, dominant 9-3 win over the Coyotes. Now (nearly) fully healthy, Colorado does not look like slowing down anytime soon.
The Avalanche's average margin of victory over the last month is 3.5 goals. The Blues, meanwhile, have the worst puck line record in the NHL at just 8-27. With Colorado hosting a struggling St. Louis team, they'll cover the -1.5 puck line.
PREDICTION: Avalanche -1.5 (+116)
Over/Under pick
While the Blues and Avalanche may have split the season series so far, the two results weren't exactly balanced. St. Louis won 4-1 in the first game of the season, before Colorado came back two nights later and hammered the Blues 8-0. St. Louis has continued to leak goals all season, with its 3.2 allowed per game the seventh-worst mark in the NHL.
The Avalanche, meanwhile, have emerged as a two-way juggernaut, leading the league with 3.6 goals per game while allowing a league-low 2.3. Though that has led to a balanced 17-18 O/U mark on the season, they are 8-2 O/U in their last 10, with the Avs singlehandedly clearing the total three times and scoring five on a 5.5 total another four times. Even with the Blues struggles, we like Colorado to take this one Over.
PREDICTION: Over 5.5 (-125)
Blues vs Avalanche betting card
- Avalanche -1.5 (+116)
- Over 5.5 (-125)
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