Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup Playoff Preview

Hockey betting fans could do worse than put some of their hard earned cash on Colorado, the Avs’ are seeded number 6 and look a solid outfit in the playoffs.

Everything old is new again in Colorado, as the Avalanche added former stalwart contributors Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote to the mix late in the regular season in a bid to inject Cup-winning experience to the team heading in to this season’s Stanley Cup playoff push.

Forsberg and Foote, along with veteran captain Joe Sakic, were key components on the Avs’ two Stanley Cup-winning teams back in 1996 and again in 2001. But the team has struggled to return to the heights of success those teams enjoyed, failing to make the Stanley Cup final ever since.

Colorado is coming off a strong 44-31-7 campaign, good enough for 95 points and the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. Fans who enjoy NHL betting will get tasty odds on a lower seed with the potential to go deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2008.

The Avalanche attack was surprisingly led by sophomore center Paul Stastny, who scored 24 goals and finished with 71 points in 66 games. Veteran wingers Andrew Brunette (19-40-59) and Milan Hejduk (29-25-54) ranked second and third respectively in team scoring, while 22-year-old winger Wojtek Wolski contributed 18 goals and 48 points. Sakic, 38, was hampered by injury all season long and managed to play in only 44 games, but produced at his usual point-a-game clip with 40 points. Winger Ryan Smyth also struggled with injury and chipped in 37 points in 55 games, while Forsberg racked up 14 points in just nine games after joining the team in March.

The blueline corps features a largely unknown cast, although the presence of Foote (acquired from Columbus at the trade deadline) provides the Avalanche with a ton of leadership from the back. Scott Hannan recovered from a slow start to the regular season to become a solid shutdown force, while John-Michael Liles and oft-injured Jordan Leopold are the puck-movers among a crew that also includes the likes of Jeff Finger, Kurt Sauer and Ruslan Salei.

Former Hart Trophy winner José Theodore enjoyed a tremendous comeback campaign, winning 28 games while posting a 2.44 goals against average with three shutouts, including 12 wins in his last 17 starts as Colorado solidified its playoff position and secured legitimate odds to win the 2008 Stanley Cup.

The Avs are finally healthy as they head in to the Stanley Cup playoffs for a first-round date with the No. 3 seed Minnesota Wild, winners of the Northwest Division by just three points ahead of Colorado. For hockey betting aficionados, this could be a first-round upset in the making.