The Vegas Golden Knights will have a big advantage tonight at home when they face their Western rivals in the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs took a 4-1 home-ice loss last night and will be playing their third game in four nights.
Can the Golden Knights beat the best in the West without goalie Robin Lehner? Is the Colorado offense cooling off after getting stymied by the Stars last night? Find out in our NHL picks and predictions for Avalanche vs. Golden Knights.
Avalanche vs Golden Knights odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
This match opened as a pick ‘em but is starting to slide in favor of the Avalanche. The total sits at 6.5. In the last meeting in October, Colorado was a -185 favorite with a total of 6. Robin Lehner started that game in net for the Knights.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Avalanche vs Golden Knights predictions
- Prediction: Golden Knights ML (-105)
- Prediction: Under 6.5 (-105)
- Best bet: Avalanche team total Under 3.5 (-127)
Predictions made on 2/16/2022 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Avalanche vs Golden Knights game info
• Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV
• Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2022
• Puck drop: 10:00 p.m. ET
• TV: TNT
Avalanche vs Golden Knights betting preview
Key injuries
Avalanche: Bowen Byram D (Out).
Golden Knights: Robin Lehner G (Out), Mark Stone F (Out), Jack Eichel F (Out), Zach Whitecloud D (Out), Alec Martinez D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Avalanche vs Golden Knights head-to-head record (since 2019)
Avalanche: 12-14 SU, 69 goals for.
Golden Knights: 14-12 SU, 69 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Avalanche are 0-5 SU in the last five meetings. Find more NHL betting trends for Avalanche vs. Golden Knights.
Avalanche vs Golden Knights picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Moneyline analysis
The Avalanche were held to just a single goal for the first time since late November last night versus the Stars. Colorado fired 47 shots on net but had no answer for Jake Oettinger.
It was the Avs’ second loss in four games and now they’ll try to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time since November 6 against an opponent who has played them well tonight in the Golden Knights.
Vegas took the first meeting this season by a 3-1 final which was its fourth straight victory over the Avalanche dating back to last season’s playoffs. In the last eight meetings, Vegas is 6-0-2 and has been Colorado’s No. 1 problem over the last two seasons. But can the visitors take advantage of the injury to Robin Lehner?
Laurent Brossoit will likely get the nod for the Knights tonight in the crease. The backup goalie is coming off a 28-save shutout versus the Oilers a week ago and has won three of his last five starts. Over his career, Brossoit is 2-1 SU vs. the Avs with a 1.71 GAA.
Home ice and rest should be another advantage for the Knights. At home, they are 6-2 SU vs. Colorado in the last eight meetings while holding the Avalanche offense to three goals or fewer in each of those meetings.
Vegas has also been off since last Wednesday and gets to see a team that will be playing its third game in four nights which started in Dallas, went to Colorado, and now is in Vegas. This is a great schedule spot for the home side.
Vegas is still a little thin on the blue line with Alec Martinez and Zach Whitecloud on the shelf, but this is a team that has dealt with injuries all season long and is still one of the best teams in the Pacific Division.
Colorado’s Darcy Kuemper has been playing great in net and will more than likely get the start with Pavel Francouz playing last night. Like Brossoit, Kuemper is coming off a shutout on Sunday and has decent numbers (2.24 GAA, .932 SV%) against Vegas despite a 4-8 SU record over his career. Kuemper has been worse on the road where he owns a 2.61 GAA.
There is no love lost between these two teams and a Western Conference Finals showdown is very possible down the road.
This could be another low-scoring affair as both teams have combined to go 8-2 to the Under over their last five games. Vegas closed at -135 on the ML in the last meeting in Nevada and the schedule should give them a better probability of winning than the current -105 odds indicate.
We’re hoping the Avalanche’s offense starts to press tonight after struggling to find the back of the net last night and the Knights continue to play the Avs better than any other team in the league.
Prediction: Golden Knights ML (-105)
Over/Under analysis
The days of automatically hitting the Avalanche on the Over are, in fact, over. Colorado has hit the Under in five straight games and is 8-2 to the Under across its last 10 games. Kuemper has been solid since the Christmas break with a 2.01 GAA and this is a very underrated defensive Colorado team.
The Avalanche sit Top 5 in expected goals against and actual goals against at even strength while their 2.64 GAA since December 1 is the sixth-best mark over that stretch. This is the best stretch of Under hockey that the Avalanche has played all season long.
The Vegas offense might take a few shifts to warm up Wednesday night. The Knights last played seven days ago in Calgary and were shut out by Jacob Markstrom, 6-0. Playing their rivals should wake them up but sitting idle for a week after not scoring in their last meeting is not the best situation for the Vegas offense.
Both teams have been killing penalties at will, lately. Colorado entered last night’s game a perfect 13 for 13 on the PK over its previous five games while Vegas hasn’t been too shabby either with its penalty kill as it’s killed 12 of its last 13 penalties.
Both offenses come into this match squeezing the stick a little tight and even with the Knights likely starting Brossoit, we’re still comfortable with the Under, especially at 6.5. The previous meeting closed at 6.
Prediction: Under 6.5 (-105)
Best bet
It’s not often we get a team playing on the back-end of a traveling back-to-back with a team total of 3.5 at a decent price.
Betting against the Colorado offense is not for the faint-hearted but when we’re getting its team total Under 3.5 at -127 thanks to a total that seems inflated by half a goal, we can’t pass it up.
The Avalanche are in a tough schedule spot with their third game in four nights while the Golden Knights come in fresh having six days of rest heading into tonight’s matchup.
Brossoit is a major X-factor but he is coming off a shutout in his latest start and we’re hoping that confidence carries over into tonight.
Pick: Avalanche team total Under 3.5 (-127)
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