The Arizona Coyotes and the Colorado Avalanche meet in NHL action from the Ball Arena on Saturday night. Who comes out on top in this Central division showdown on Saturday? Let’s find out with our Coyotes vs. Avalanche Prediction.
Arizona Coyotes Team Preview
The Arizona Coyotes come into this game looking to build on their four-game win streak after a 5-2 win over San Jose last time out. Clayton Keller leads the Coyotes with 30 points including 12 goals and 18 assists while Matias Maccelli has 24 points with 18 assists of his own. Nick Schmaltz has 22 points with 10 goals and 12 assists while Lawson Crouse, Nick Bjugstad and Alex Kerfoot each have 20 points with Crouse logging a team-high 14 goals while Bjugstad has 14 assists and Kerfoot has 17 apples this season. Michael Carcone has 14 goals of his own as well this season. Connor Ingram has posted a 12-6 record with a 2.55 GAA and a .919 save percentage in goal for Arizona while Karel Vejmelka is 5-7-2 with a 2.95 GAA and a .906 save percentage this season.
Arizona Coyotes Team Facts
- The Coyotes have won each of their last four games.
- The Coyotes have covered the puck line in six of their last seven games as underdogs against the Avalanche.
- The Coyotes have won the second period in each of their last four games.
- The ‘Over 2.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in three of the Coyotes’ last four games against Central Division opponents.
Colorado Avalanche Team Preview
The Colorado Avalanche will be out to build on a 6-4 win over the Ottawa Senators in their last matchup. Nathan MacKinnon has 53 points with a team-high 18 goals and 35 assists while Cale Makar has 39 points with 25 assists. Mikko Rantanen has 42 points with 17 goals and 25 assists and Valeri Nichushkin has 32 points split between 15 goals and 17 assists this season. Alexandar Georgiev has started 26 games for Colorado, going 16-8-1 with a 3.01 GAA and an .898 save percentage this season while Ivan Prosvetov is 4-3-1 with a 2.84 GAA and a .906 save percentage this season.
Colorado Avalanche Team Facts
- The home team has won each of the Avalanche’s last six games.
- The Avalanche have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last six games against Central Division opponents.
- The home team has won the third period in each of the Avalanche’s last six games.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1’ market has hit in each of the Avalanche’s last seven games.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Colorado Avalanche rank 2nd in the league for goals per game this season (3.64).
- The Colorado Avalanche rank 6th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (83.76%).
- The Arizona Coyotes rank 30th in the league for shots per game this season (27.2).
- The Arizona Coyotes are one of only four teams to lose a game when leading by 2 or more goals after Period 1 this season.
Coyotes vs. Avalanche Prediction
I’m going to back Arizona +1.5 here. The Coyotes have played a fairly soft group of opponents during this win streak, but Colorado hasn’t played many different teams as of late, and head-to-head, these two have split the last eight meetings with five one goal games, four of which needed more than regulation. I’ll take a shot on the +1.5 here.
