NHL Playoff Betting: Detroit Red Wings vs Colorado Avalanche

May 01, 2008 | By Ben Chaisson | Picks Articles Archive

The Colorado Avalanche hope to avoid a sweep tonight when they host the Detroit Red Wings, at the Pepsi Center. None of the five previous playoff series between the two rivals has ended in a sweep. Oddsmakers at SBGglobal.com have the Red Wings as 155-moneyline favs over the Avalanche +135 with the over/under listed at 5 ½ goals. Get your NHL Playoff Betting in now at SBGglobal.com

GAME: Detroit Red Wings (61-23-2-5) at Colorado Avalanche (48-34-6-3)
DATE/TIME: Thursday, May 01 - 10:00 PM EST
LINE: SBGglobal.com TOTAL: 5.5
PICK: Detroit -155

The Red Wings are rollin along just fine. They are 7-2 SU during the playoffs where they’ve outscored their opponents 27-19. During the Avs series they’ve outscored them 13-7, where five of those goals have come from their superb power play. Since they switched Dominik Hasek for Chris Osgood they’ve gone 5-0 SU. Osgood has a 1.44 GAA and he’s given up eight goals so far. Their defense is steeped in experience, but last game their penalty kill gave up two goals. Johan Franzen leads the Wings with eight goals while Pavel Datsyk and Henrik Zetterberg each have five goals.

The Avs aren’t looking good for tonight’s game after the announcement that Paul Stasny will be out for the remainder of the series and Ryan Smith is doubtful for tonight’s game. Stasny had two goals and one assist in nine games while Smith has two goals and three assists in eight games. There’s no doubt this will affect their offense. Peter Forsberg also was checked out by the medical staff Wednesday. He's missed two of the three games with a groin injury, and wasn't his usual dominant self in Game 3. He should be able to go tonight. This series was expected to be a hard hitting battle, but it’s been anything but. Players have been on their best behavior trying to avoid the penalty box. The Avs have been outscored 7-13 thanks to the average goaltending of Jose Theodore who’s 4-5 with a 2.92 GAA after allowing 24 goals to enter the net. They managed two power play goals last game after being shutout the two previous games. Their penalty kill is where they’re getting killed, they’ve allowed five goals in three games or 19 kills. Avs are 2-3 SU on the road in the playoffs.

Recent Trends to Consider

Red Wings are 4-0 in their last 4 playoff games as a favorite of -151 to -200.
Red Wings are 4-0 in their last 4 playoff games as a favorite.
Red Wings are 6-0 in their last 6 Conference Semifinals games.
Avalanche are 0-6 in their last 6 vs. Central.
Avalanche are 0-8 in their last 8 Conference Semifinals games.
Avalanche are 0-5 in their last 5 games as a home underdog.
Red Wings are 13-3 in the last 16 meetings in Colorado.
Red Wings are 20-6 in the last 26 meetings.

The Bottom Line: The Avs don’t have their stars in the lineup tonight. The Red Wings are just too dominant on offense and defense. The Avs will be golfing by tomorrow. Get your NHL Playoff Betting in now at SBGglobal.com and receive a 10% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit.

NHL Playoff Betting: Detroit Red Wings vs Colorado Avalanche

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