Stanley Cup Odds After Week 15: Here Come Avalanche

Don’t believe in a Stanley Cup hangover? The Colorado Avalanche won the Cup in June and were clear favorites to repeat this season, but they got off to a very inconsistent start to the 2022-23 campaign. These things happen after playing so many playoff games and with little time off over the summer – it’s often the same in the NBA. Here is the preview for your NHL betting. However, Colorado seems to have found its rhythm and its health and enters Tuesday’s game against Washington on a season-high five-game winning streak and are +750 third favorites to repeat as Cup champions. The Avalanche are currently 25-16-3, good for 53 points, and sit in fourth place in the Central Division. Colorado has scored 141 goals, which ranks 22nd. On the flip side, the Avalanche have only given up 124 goals, fifth in the league. The Avalanche have played their past three games without one of the best overall players in the league in young defenseman Cale Makar, the reigning Norris Trophy winner but he’s likely to return from his undisclosed injury on Tuesday. Makar (43 total points this year) was riding a six-game point streak – where he compiled 10 points (4G, 6A) in that span – prior to the injury. The team has been riding Makar hard because of injuries elsewhere as he’s averaging almost an extra two full minutes per game compared to last season. As a result, he leads the league in minutes played on top of taking on additional responsibilities. He’s averaging 27:23 and has played so much 5-on-5 time that he leads the team by more than 20 total minutes (mainly due to Makar’s defensive partner, Devon Toews, missing two games). He has lived up to the expectations of being a top-pairing defenseman who can facilitate the power play. Now he is also a penalty killer who needed only 38 games to surpass his short-handed minutes played last season (107:28 in 77 games). Forward Gabriel Landeskog has yet to play this season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-October, but if he’s able to avoid any setbacks once he resumes skating after the All-Star break, he could be ready to return sometime in mid-to-late February. Landeskog had 30 goals and 59 points in just 51 games last year. Mikko Rantanen has really stepped up in Landeskog’s place, scoring 32 goals and 26 assists for 58 points in 45 games while recording a +9. The Boston Bruins continue to lead the NHL in points and are +500 favorites to win the Cup, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs at +600. As if the Bruins don’t have enough firepower at forward, their back line has registered a goal in five consecutive games and six of the last seven. Per NHL Stats, the last time the Bruins had goals from defensemen in five straight games was March 8-15, 2014. “It was maybe about a month ago now, where we talked about our defensemen not being as aggressive in the offensive zone and I think we’ve gotten to that, and the results are showing,” said head coach Jim Montgomery. “I thought the results were there early and you’re going to go through pockets and waves like that where defensemen are scoring…I think we’re sixth in the league, so we don’t focus only on goals, but it’s nice for them to get rewarded with them being really impressive.” The NHL Trade Deadline is approaching and the Chicago Blackhawks could help determine the Stanley Cup champion. They are terrible and will not sniff the playoffs but have two top trade candidates in Jonathan Toews and former Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane. Both have no-movement clauses and are slated to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Will they waive those clauses? Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reported Saturday that both players aren’t prepared to make that choice until mid-February. Kane has been plagued by a nagging lower-body injury this season that sidelined him for three games earlier this month. It could explain why his production is down this season. With 30 points in 42 games, he’s well off last season’s 92-point performance. Toews has 27 points and has heated up in January, finding the scoresheet in four straight games and collecting two goals and seven points over his last six. Carolina has been mentioned as a possible landing spot for one of the two after losing forward Max Pacioretty to injury. He was placed on injured reserve with a torn Achilles tendon in his right foot over the weekend. It is the same right Achilles tendon that Pacioretty tore last season and required offseason surgery after he was traded to the Hurricanes from the Vegas Golden Knights. He had the procedure in August and was out of the lineup for six months.

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