The Colorado Avalanche (6-1-4) and Vegas Golden Knights (6-1-3) tangle in a Friday afternoon game in Las Vegas, Nevada. Puck drop at T-Mobile Arena is 4 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Avalanche vs. Golden Knights odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
2024-25 season series: Colorado won 2-1
Colorado last played Tuesday when the -151 Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 8-4 (Over 6). The win snapped a 4-game losing streak (0-3-1). Colorado’s 8 goals marked the club’s best in a single game since Nov. 15, 2023.
The Knights also head into Friday’s afternoon game on 2 days’ rest. On Tuesday, Vegas tied a season high with a half-dozen twine-finders in a 6-3 triumph at the Carolina Hurricanes. The club has scored 4 goals or more in 5 of its last 7 games, and its overall 3.70 goals-per-game average ranks third in the league.
Avalanche at Golden Knights odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:01 a.m. ET.
Moneyline (ML): Avalanche -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Golden Knights -105 (bet $105 to win $100)Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Avalanche +1.5 (-275) | Golden Knights -1.5 (+220)Over/Under (O/U): 6 (O: -120 | U: +100)Avalanche at Golden Knights projected goalies
Mackenzie Blackwood (last season: 28-21-6, 2.55 GAA, .912 SV%) vs. Akira Schmid (5-1-0, 2.73 GAA, .892 SV%)
Blackwood has not yet played this season due to a lower-body injury. The veteran netminder split the 2024-25 season with the San Jose Sharks and Colorado. He registered a 2.33 GAA, .913 SV% in 32 games for the Avs.
Schmid last played Tuesday when he stopped 21 of 24 pucks in a 6-3 win at the Carolina Hurricanes.
Avalanche at Golden Knights picks and predictionsPrediction
Avalanche 3, Golden Knights 2
Over the last 2 seasons, the Avs have gone 13-4-1 (.756) — with 3.56 GPG against 2.56 GPAA — when playing on 2-day rest.
Both clubs have faltered of late, but Colorado’s 4 losses in its losing streak — 3 in overtime/shootout games — were of the 1-goal variety. All 5 of the Avs losses this season have been by 1 goal.
The Avalanche (3.73 GPG) and Knights (3.70) rank second and third in the league, respectively, in scoring. But Vegas gets much of its offense on an overall-strong power play (27%, ninth NHL). That PP has gone just 1-for-its-last-13. On Friday, the Knights are up against a Colorado club that has squelched opposing extra-man opportunities to the tune of a 90% success rate in killing penalties (third NHL). And the Avalanche have only been booked for 7.5 penalty minutes per game; that’s a bottom-third average.
The Avs are the better club when it comes to creating some separation in even-strength play. They generate way more scoring chances than foes most games, and they’re production has been excellent despite a relatively low shooting percentage in 5-on-5 play. Vegas has had several games in the last 2 weeks that have seen the Knights out-chanced in even-strength play.
The Knights have been a bit too reliant on high-scoring third periods; defending those final stanzas has been a strength for these Avs.
COLORADO (-115) is a play with value.
No interest; STEER CLEAR.
The Under went 2-1 in last year’s series and is 7-3 across the last 10 Colorado-Vegas games.
The firepower is there for both sides, but don’t look for much in the way of special-teams production here. After recent losses on each side and in a good-on-good matchup, expect this one to be tighter than how the total is being bet so far.
Consider a partial-unit play on the UNDER 6 (+100) or on waiting out a potential uptick to a total of 6.5.
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