While Utah is improving, the Avalanche should still have all of the advantages needed to find separation at Delta Center.
NHL
The Utah Hockey Club hosts the Colorado Avalanche on Friday evening at the Delta Center at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Colorado has strung together three straight victories, and my Avalanche vs. Utah predictions believe that this trend will continue Friday night.
My best bet
Avalanche -1.5 (+185 at bet365)
My analysis
This line has overadjusted to the market’s increased respect for the Utah Hockey Club. The increased respect is certainly deserved, given Utah’s improvements this season, particularly among its younger players.
Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther, and Logan Cooley are all developing even stronger than expected, but expectations should be tempered against a clearly superior Colorado Avalanche team. Utah is closing the gap, but not enough to justify this long price tag on the Avs.
Let’s start with the blue line, which is the first of many advantages for the Avalanche on Friday. Their defensemen are stronger offensively while also suppressing high-danger scoring chances at a high level, ranking 11th in xGA/60.
Not only does Colorado outrank Utah in that category, but it also outranks Utah in xGF/60. With the stronger offense and defense, it’s not shocking that the Avs also pace Utah in expected goal differential per 60 minutes.
Colorado is also on the road, but that doesn’t present too much of a concern to me as the Avs are 12-7 on the road while Utah is 5-10 at the Delta Center.
Finally, I project more value in the Avalanche’s puck line at +185 rather than their -140 moneyline, given that each of their past six wins has come by 2+ goals.
Avalanche -1.5
Mikko Rantanen anytime goalscorer
Nathan MacKinnon 1+ assists
If we’re backing Colorado to win by 2+ goals, it obviously needs to find the back of the net on a few occasions. The best candidate to do so is Mikko Rantanen, who leads the team in both goals and power-play goals.
I specifically mention special teams because that’s a relatively easy way to beat Utah, given it ranks 31st in penalty minutes taken per game and 16th in penalty kill percentage. Additionally, if we’re backing Rantanen to score, then there’s a high probability of Nathan MacKinnon helping him do so.
Not only do they skate together on the first power-play unit, but MacKinnon has also assisted on three of Rantanen’s past four goals.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Colorado has won three straight games by 2+ goals. Find more NHL betting trends for Avalanche vs. Utah Hockey Club.
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Tony Sartori has written over 1,000 pieces of sports betting content across multiple different media outlets. He covers the NHL, UFC, PGA, NFL and MLB. Tony started part-time while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he went on to receive a B.A. in Economics and a certificate in Entrepreneurship in 2022. He continues to work full-time in the sports betting landscape.
Due to the variety of sports he covers, Tony is handicapping every day. If he had one piece of betting advice for a new sports bettor, it would be to strictly enforce bankroll management rules for yourself. If you set aside $10,000 for your betting bankroll, then you should generally only be betting between $100 – $500 per play.
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