Daniel Wettstein previews NHL Playoffs Game 1 between the Avalanche and Stars and provides his best bets.
As I stated in my series preview here, I have every belief the Stars will put up only a modicum more of a fight than the Coyotes as they do have a slightly better D/goaltending combo (Stars 2nd/Yotes 4th). The combo of the Av’s 4th ranked offense and 6th ranked D/goaltending will be too much for the 5th-worst offense in the Stars.
I have already given you my picks on the Moneyline, O/U of 5.5, and Puckline of -1.5 in my series preview. But I didn’t spoil all the kiddos at the outset as DraftKings also has a great Regular Time Line:
As I mentioned above and in my series preview, this Avalanche offense is a tidal wave. And they proved against that Coyotes top-5 ranked unit, your regular season ratings mean nothing to them. Even though I believe the Stars will give more resistance in the D-zone, they will be even less of a threat in the O-zone. This will lead to more of the same where the Av’s just pound and pound away until they break through. As they did in scoring 22 goals in 5 games against those Yotes, while only giving up 8(4 in only loss). This is why I am more than comfortable to take the over on Av’s total goals set at 3 as I look for them to average more than 3 per game in this series, line is again courtesy of DraftKings:
The Stars are riding a bit of a high with a 7 goal outburst in their series-clinching win against the Flames. This could lead to them getting outside their game as the pace and speed of the Av’s wears on them trying to do more than they are capable of. These are the moments MacKinnon exploits using his speed and agility to weave through a spread out D. When that happens, I don’t care who is in net, he is going to make them look silly. Which is why I am happy to jump on these lines for Mack and Kadri to simply score a goal:
Nathan MacKinnon has 8 points and 4 goals in 8 games. Kadri has 5 power-play goals already in the playoffs. The momentum of dominating a similar opponent, mixed with a true hate of the opposition will prove to much for the Stars to stop their own supernova implosion.
I will continue to hunt down some good player props, game props, etc. So check out my Twitter feed @DanWettsteinII before the game for some player props and any other great lines I may find. And stick around as I live-tweet all major Colorado sports contests, and join in the conversation.
