{"id":506882,"date":"2026-03-16T23:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T23:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/506882\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T23:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T23:32:23","slug":"penguins-vs-avalanche-prediction-picks-best-bets-for-tonights-nhl-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/506882\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins vs Avalanche Prediction, Picks & Best Bets for Tonight\u2019s NHL Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas are one of the best offensive duos in the NHL, and Valeri Nichushkin is the prime beneficiary.<\/p>\n

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My Penguins vs. Avalanche predictions expect the veteran power winger to take full advantage of the increased opportunity.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get into my NHL picks<\/a> for Monday, March 16.<\/p>\n

Penguins vs Avalanche predictionPenguins vs Avalanche best bet: Valeri Nichushkin Over 0.5 points (-115)<\/p>\n

The Colorado Avalanche<\/a> are dealing with a wave of injuries up front, most notably to Artturi Lehkonen and Gabriel Landeskog.<\/p>\n

Valeri Nichushkin<\/a> is on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon<\/a> and Martin Necas<\/a> as a result, providing him a golden opportunity to find the scoresheet.<\/p>\n

MacKinnon and Necas hold the team’s top two slots in 5-on-5 points by a wide margin. Playing alongside them will raise Nichushkin’s floor and ceiling.<\/p>\n

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Nichushkin has averaged more than two points per 60 with MacKinnon, and that trio has posted an encouraging 72% xG share through 18 minutes.<\/p>\n

Penguins vs Avalanche same-game parlay<\/p>\n

MacKinnon and Nichushkin both rank Top-3 on the Avalanche in 5-on-5 shot rate. Necas? 9th. He is much more selective as a shooter, giving him high assist equity on this line.<\/p>\n

The Avalanche have outscored opponents by 1.64 goals per game at home following a day of rest. The Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> have allowed 3+ goals in six straight and are unlikely to stop the bleeding in this matchup.<\/p>\n

Penguins vs Avalanche SGP<\/p>\n

Valeri Nichushkin Over 0.5 points<\/p>\n

Martin Necas Over 0.5 assists<\/p>\n

Penguins vs Avalanche odds<\/p>\n

Moneyline: Penguins +195 | Avalanche -240<\/p>\n

Puck Line: Penguins +1.5 (-120) | Avalanche -1.5 (+100)<\/p>\n

Over\/Under: Over 6.5 (-120) | Under 6.5 (+100)<\/p>\n

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Penguins vs Avalanche trend<\/p>\n

The Colorado Avalanche have covered the Puck Line in 15 of their last 25 games at home (+4.70 Units \/ 16% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends<\/a> for Penguins vs. Avalanche.<\/p>\n

How to watch Penguins vs Avalanche<\/p>\n

Location<\/p>\n

Ball Arena, Denver, CO<\/p>\n

Date<\/p>\n

Monday, March 16, 2026<\/p>\n

Puck drop<\/p>\n

9:30 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

TV<\/p>\n

ESPN<\/p>\n

Penguins vs Avalanche latest injuries<\/p>\n

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Covers.com<\/a>, read the full article here<\/a> and view our best betting sites<\/a> or check out our top sportsbook promos<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. Nathan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2320,193,144,7,5,513,517,4,118,3922],"class_list":{"0":"post-506882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-artturi-lehkonen","9":"tag-avalanche","10":"tag-colorado-avalanche","11":"tag-gabriel-landeskog","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-martin-necas","14":"tag-nathan-mackinnon","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-penguins","17":"tag-valeri-nichushkin"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116241468342153106","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}