Dean Etheridge
Jared Bednar’s Colorado Avalanche will be looking for back to back wins when they face the New York Islanders at the Ball Arena tonight. Here we look ahead to match and assess their chances in our latest free NHL betting picks.
- What; NHL
- Who; Colorado Avalanche vs New York Islanders
- Where; Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
- When; Monday, December 19th, 2022
- Puck Drop; 9 pm ET
The Avalanche are down in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, but despite their recent struggles, that league position is slightly misleading.
Due to a postponement away in Nashville at the end of November, and along with fixture scheduling, the Avalanche has games in hand on all three of the sides above them.
Colorado has 34 points from their 29 games played. That leaves them 8 points behind leaders, the Dallas Stars, but with three games in hand. And they are also 7 points behind the Jets in second place, and 4 behind the third placed Minnesota Wild. The Avalanche has two games in hand on both the Jets and the Wild.
In their last ten matches the Avalanche’s record reads 4-5-1. But again, in the short term at least, this is slightly misleading, as they have won three of their last four. So as things stand, things aren’t as bad as they seem for Bednar’s team. In their last match, they defeated the Nashville Predators 3-1.
No splash zone. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/Ee4U8zR8RE
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 18, 2022
That said, they are nowhere near where they would have expected to be after the way they dominated the NHL last season. And as a result of this, they are no longer the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2023.
Betting to win 2023 Stanley Cup
The favorites to in the betting to win the 2023 Stanley Cup are now the Boston Bruins. Jim Montgomery’s side completed a crushing double over the defending champions at the start of December, winning 5-1 in Boston, and then defeating the Avalanche 4-0 in their own back garden.
After the first of the two wins, the 5-1 in Boston, the Bruins were installed as the +500 betting favorites to win the 2023 Stanley Cup. This saw the Avalanche relegated down to second in the betting at +650.
Elsewhere, and the improving and exciting looking Toronto Maple Leafs are now up to +800 third favorites. Although they have suffered a couple of recent setbacks, losing their last two matches to the Capitals (5-2), and the Rangers (3-1). And this after they defeated the Ducks 7-0 just last Tuesday night.
Behind the Maple Leafs in the betting comes the Vegas Knights at +900, who by pure coincidence, lost 5-2 to the Islanders on Saturday night. For the record, the Islanders are +4500 to win the 2023 Stanley Cup.
More betting can be found below in our odds table brought to you using odds from the best NHL betting sites.
| Stanley Cup Winner Betting 2023 |  |  |  |
| Boston Bruins | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +650 | +650 | +650 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +900 | +900 | +850 |
| New Jersey Devils | +1200 | +1200 | +1150 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1400 | +1300 | +1200 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1600 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Florida Panthers | +1800 | +1800 | +1700 |
| Calgary Flames | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| New York Rangers | +2200 | +1900 | +2000 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +2200 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Dallas Stars | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Winnipeg Jets | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
Can the Islanders make it two wins from two?
The Islanders have had a rough patch of form lately, but managed to end a losing streak of three with an impressive 5-2 win away to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
#ISLES WIN! pic.twitter.com/8YGwOV14wZ
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 18, 2022
The three defeats included an awful 5-4 loss away at the Coyotes on Friday, and there was also a 3-0 loss at home to the Hurricanes. Included in that run though was a 4-3 defeat to the Bruins, where the match went to a shootout after finishing 3-3 in regulation time. Showing that not all three losses were bad ones.
Overall though, the Islanders need to step things up. The loss to the Coyotes was their sixth in their previous eight matches, and that’s the sort of form that’s going to see them struggling to make the playoffs should it continue.
At the moment the Islanders sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division. They are only 7 points behind the Devils in first position, and 1 point ahead of the Capitals in sixth place. This shows what a tight division the Metropolitan is this season.
And it also shows that if any side can put together a decent winning run, there is no reason why they can’t be challenging at the top end of the table.
Avalanche vs Islanders Betting and Picks
The best NHL betting sites don’t see the Islanders making it back to back wins when they face the Avalanche later. Colorado is -163 to win on the moneyline with BetOnline, with New York at +147.
Moving onto the handicap market, and it’s New York receiving the +1.5 goals start. This sees the Islanders as the -180 favorites on the handicap line, Colorado is +160. Onto total goals, and the mark is set at 5.5. Over 5.5 is favorite at -125, with Under 5.5 goals at +113.
For my picks, I’m going to go with the form over the past four to five matches, and that means it has to be a win for Colorado. The Avalanche also has home advantage tonight.
For more great betting offers, please visit our BetOnline sportsbook review. Here you will find more betting information and also learn how to claim BetOnline’s new customer offer.
Total Goals Pick
In the total goals market, both sides have been scoring and conceding lately. I can see no justification for backing under 5.5 goals to win, so over 5.5 total goals has to be the pick.
