Betting on the Unpredictable Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche began the season as one of three teams in the NHL without a blemish on their record.

Standing at 6-0-0, the Avalanche were tied for second in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, sitting behind only the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights, who were 7-0-0.

That was a long time ago. Tuesday, the Avalanche lost to the worst team in the NHL and are in a first-place tie with the Dallas Stars, each with 40 points. However, Dallas has two games in hand.

Worse, Cale Makar is dealing with a little something.

“He’s got a nagging injury,” said coach Jared Bednar.

The Avalanche will have a hungry opponent on Thursday when they host the Ottawa Senators. The Sens just fired coach D.J. Smith and replaced him on an interim basis with the franchise’s all-time winningest coach, Jacques Martin. Ottawa remains out of the playoff seeds after high expectations entering the campaign.

Ottawa boasts some real talent and scrappiness. Brady Tkachuk is always a danger to score … or drive you insane.

As things stand right now, the Avalanche should be a solid betting favorite to beat Ottawa on home ice.

And Denver natives are able to bet on their hometown team thanks to the latest Colorado gambling laws.

The Avalanche have a few things to exploit en route to possibly reclaiming first place in the Central Division.

One of Ottawa’s great struggles lies in the net. Both Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg have save percentages well below .900. Korpisalo, who signed a hefty free-agent deal on July 1, sports an .892 stopper percentage, while Forsberg has an abysmal .876.

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The Ottawa Senators are in the bottom third in most of the major categories. They are 21st in percentage of shot attempts, 18th in actual shots on goal, 17th in goals for, and absolutely dead last in expected goals for (xGF).

That should be a field day for the Avalanche, except we’re not sure where Martin will take the team or how inspired they will be for the new bench boss.

After that blistering start, the Avalanche have slipped to 13th in xGF, but remain sixth in shot attempt percentage and sixth in percentage of scoring chances. Despite the struggles against bad teams, the Avalanche will be solid betting favorites, though Alexandar Georgiev has slipped greatly after his stellar start to the season.

The Avalanche goalie was 6-0-0 with a .930 save percentage and a 1.98 goals-against average. Now he has a below-average .897 save percentage and 2.97 GAA.

The 6-foot-1, 187-pound Bulgarian goalie will need to upgrade his play in 2024 if the Avalanche want to unseat the Vegas Golden Knights or get past the Dallas Stars.

Nathan MacKinnon leads the way offensively with a whopping 48 points, including 14 goals in just 32 games. He is second in the NHL in scoring, trailing only Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov.

After the Senators, the Avalanche will face the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday before a four-day holiday break, which will end when they visit the same Coyotes on Dec. 27.