It is altogether too early in the NHL season to start talking about the playoffs or who might face who in the Stanley Cup Final. Last season proved that you cannot make those sorts of predictions at this stage of the season. After all, who would have chosen the St. Louis Blues to win the Stanley Cup after seeing them sink to the bottom of the Western Conference standings? We all know how that played out, so it might be best to let some time pass before crowning a champion this season.
That said, we have now seen enough to get a very good idea of the teams that are very likely going to be in the playoff conversation at the end of the season. With that in mind, when you get very good teams from opposing conferences going head to head, you do begin to wonder of you might be looking at a Stanley Cup Final preview. We have a good one set to go on Wednesday night, with the Philadelphia Flyers heading into Colorado to face the Avalanche. Colorado is favored by 1 ½ at home, with the goal total for this one set at 6.
Flyers vs Avalanche 2019 NHL Week 11 Odds & Game Preview
- When: Wednesday, December 11 at 9:30 PM EST
- Where: Pepsi Center, Colorado
- TV: NBCSN
- Radio: Philadelphia / Colorado
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- NHL Odds: Avalanche -1.5
Why bet on the Philadelphia Flyers?
The Philadelphia Flyers head west sporting a 17-8-5 record on the season, good for 39 points and the #3 spot in the Metropolitan Division. The race in there is tight, though, so they Flyers will be well aware that a couple of poor results could send the down the rankings quite quickly. The good news is that Philly has been on a positive run of form of late, going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
While the Flyers are just a game above .500 at 7-6-1 on the road this season, it should be noted that they have won 6 of their last 8 games away from home. They have not been quite as successful when facing teams from the Western Conference, going 4-4-2 in those 10 games.
Why bet on the Colorado Avalanche?
Last season, the Avalanche snuck into the #8 spot in the Western Conference before going on to stun the #1 seeded Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup. They served notice that they were a team on the rise and that has certainly carried over into this season. They are sitting at 19-8-3, good for 41 points and second in the Central Division, where they trail the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues by a single point.
The Avalanche will look to maintain their strong play teams from the East, where they are 8-1-2 this season. They have been solid of late, going 7-2-1 in their last 10, while also going 8-3-2 overall at home. Their +27 goal differential is the best in the west and the second best in the NHL.
Flyers vs Avalanche Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
I think the bet that we should be looking at here is the goal total. The Flyers have seen 4 of their last 5 games go OVER, while the same has been true in 4 of the last 5 meetings between these two teams. I see a high scoring game that ends up being close.
Score Prediction: Philadelphia Flyers 4 Colorado Avalanche 5
