Colorado Avalanche (4-2-1) vs. New Jersey Devils (4-3)
October 28, 2022 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: New Jersey Devils +118 / Colorado Avalanche -147; Over/Under: +6.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Colorado Avalanche and the New Jersey Devils meet in NHL action from the Prudential Center on Friday night.
The Colorado Avalanche will look to build on back-to-back 3-2 wins after a victory over the Rangers last time out. Valeri Nichushkin has a team-high 12 points with 7 goals and 5 assists while Nathan MacKinnon has 10 points with 3 goals and a team-high 7 assists. Mikko Rantanen has 9 points with 3 goals and 6 assists while Cale Makar has 7 assists as well. Bowen Byram and Artturi Lehkonen each have 5 points with a pair of goals and 3 assists this season. Alexandar Georgiev is 4-0-1 with a 2.56 GAA and a .921 save percentage while Pavel Francouz is 0-2 with a 4.10 GAA and an .877 save percentage between the pipes for Colorado this season.
The New Jersey Devils will be out to build on their 6-2 win over Detroit last time out. Jesper Bratt leads the Devils with a team-high 9 assists as part of his 12 points while Nico Hischier has logged 7 points with 3 goals and 4 assists. Dougie Hamilton has 6 points with a pair of goals and 4 assists while Jack Hughes has 5 poitns with a pair of goals and 3 assists. Mackenzie Blackwood has gone 3-2 with a 2.02 GAA and an .871 save percentage while Vitek Vanecek is 1-1 with a 3.43 GAA and an .833 save percentage of his own this season.
Colorado is 72-27 in their last 99 games overall and 38-16 in their last 54 games against a team with a winning record while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games against the Eastern Conference. New Jersey is 5-14 in their last 19 games following a win and 24-53 in their last 77 games overall while the under is 6-2 in their last 8 games against a team with a winning record.
I get the reasoning for looking at either side in this one, but I’m not sure how you can pass on the Avalanche at this price. The Avs are simply the far better team here and while the Devils have had their moments, and analytics would actually suggest the Devils are a solid offensive team, the eye test for me just says that this Devils team is in trouble against the defending champs. I’ll side with Colorado here.
