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The Colorado Avalanche have had a very strong response to the league’s worst team, the Arizona Coyotes, snapping their home-ice win streak with a 4-1-0 run since that Feb. 1 matchup. The Avalanche have looked like the best team in the NHL, yet I still see value in the Avs to beat the Boston Bruins outright on Monday.
The craziest thing about the Avalanche’s impressive play is that superstar Nathan MacKinnon is fifth on the team in points, which shows the strength of this roster. Their defensive numbers aren’t the best in the league, but they have gotten incredible goaltending from Darcy Kuemper, who is expected to start Monday’s game.
Last time these two teams met, Kuemper allowed only three goals on 32 shots. The Bruins were the better team in that Jan. 26 meeting, dominating for most of regulation and winning the Expected Goals battle by a 4.95 to 3.55 count, but were outshot 41-32. And while they usually don’t struggle to find goals, the Bruins’ offense has been lost without its leading scorer Brad Marchand (suspension), with the unit scoring only seven goals over the last five games with a 2-2-1 record.
The Avalanche are playing incredible hockey right now. And while the Bruins will limit the Avalanche’s chances, without Marchand, the Bruins won’t keep up with the offensive fire power of the Avs. Plus Kuemper has been fantastic in the blue paint for Colorado and will be able to shut down Boston.
This will definitely be a close battle, but I am very confident that the Avalanche will walk away with two points. They’re heavy favorites, but I’m willing to take the juice on this one.
The play: Avalanche, -165
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