Two former Central division powerhouses face off in the newly realigned West Division when the St. Louis Blues head to Denver for a matchup with the Colorado Avalanche.

These teams, both with Cup aspirations, should get to know each other fairly well, as they’ll face off eight times in the shortened 56-game season. The Avalanche are favoured slightly with a total of 5.5 goals.

Blues vs. Avalanche Betting Analysis

These teams are meeting for the first time since Colorado won a 2-1 round robin game in the NHL bubble. St. Louis only managed to pick up two wins in five meetings with the Avs, last season, with Colorado winning the last three games.

As the defending Stanley Cup champions at the time, the Blues had high expectations entering the NHL bubble, but it was a disappointing return to action. After dropping all three of their qualifying games, St. Louis was upset by the Vancouver Canucks, losing the first round series in six games. The Blues left the NHL bubble with just two wins in nine total games.

With higher expectations throughout the season, the Avalanche entered the NHL bubble as one of the top teams in the Western Conference and finished the round robin as the No. 2 seed. After easily bumping the Coyotes from the first round in five games, the Avs fell in the second round for the second straight year, this time reaching overtime in Game 7 against the Dallas Stars.

Colorado has won four of their past six home gams in this series and the over hit in three of the five games between these teams, last season.

St. Louis Blues

This is a very different St. Louis team from last year. Torey Krug was picked up to replace Alex Pietrangelo on the back end, Kyle Clifford was brought in as a veteran with experience and leadership potential and the Blues won the prize of free agency, Mike Hoffman. Krug won’t be able to completely replace Pietrangelo, but he’s as close as it comes. He’s been a consistent 50-point defenceman over the last several years in Boston and adds to an already dangerous St. Louis power play. Clifford is a dependable veteran presence who brings a Stanley Cup pedigree and can be a voice of calm in the locker room. With Vladimir Tarasenko still out with a serious shoulder injury, Hoffman fills the role of elite sniper and is a 30-goal scorer. When Tarasenko returns, the duo creates has the chance to create one of the best offensive one-two punches in the league.

Colorado Avalanche

Already with one of the best core groups in hockey, Colorado focused on filling out depth roles in the off-season. Defensively, Devon Toews is an upgrade from Nikita Zadorov and with 28 points last year, he has a bit of an offensive upside. Brandon Saad was Colorado’s steal of a deal in the off-season. Saad has hit the 20 goal mark in five of his last seven seasons and was a 30 goal scorer in Columbus, providing the Avs with some needed secondary scoring. After a great showing at the World Junior Championship, rookie defenceman Bowen Byram is going to get every chance to stick with this team. He scored 52 points in 50 WHL games, last year, and he looks ready to make the jump to the NHL.

Who Will Win Blues vs. Avalanche?

• Regular Season

Blues Team Leaders

STL

Points	David Perron 22
+ / -	Justin Faulk 16
Shots	David Perron 60
Penalty Mins	David Perron 16
Wins	Jordan Binnington 8
GAA	Jordan Binnington 2.66

COL

Points	Nathan MacKinnon 21
+ / -	Cale Makar 6
Shots	Nathan MacKinnon 76
Penalty Mins	Bowen Byram 19
Wins	Philipp Grubauer 10
GAA	Philipp Grubauer 2.2

• Regular Season

Avalanche Team Leaders

STL

Points	David Perron 22
+ / -	Justin Faulk 16
Shots	David Perron 60
Penalty Mins	David Perron 16
Wins	Jordan Binnington 8
GAA	Jordan Binnington 2.66

COL

Points	Nathan MacKinnon 21
+ / -	Cale Makar 6
Shots	Nathan MacKinnon 76
Penalty Mins	Bowen Byram 19
Wins	Philipp Grubauer 10
GAA	Philipp Grubauer 2.2

Injuries

St. Louis

Jacob De La Rose (LW)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 28 / 02 / 21

Carl Gunnarsson (D)

out for season Knee - 22 / 02 / 21

Ivan Barbashev (C)

Mid April Ankle - 19 / 02 / 21

Colton Parayko (D)

Out indefinitely Undisclosed - 18 / 02 / 21

Torey Krug (D)

Prob Thurs Upper Body - 15 / 02 / 21

Jaden Schwartz (LW)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 13 / 02 / 21

Sammy Blais (LW)

Out indefinitely Undisclosed - 06 / 02 / 21

Zach Sanford (LW)

Ques Mon Flu - 06 / 02 / 21

Marco Scandella (D)

Out indefinitely Upper Body - 06 / 02 / 21

Robert Thomas (C)

Early April Thumb - 06 / 02 / 21

Colorado

Cale Makar (D)

Ques Wed Upper Body - 28 / 02 / 21

Brandon Saad (LW)

Ques Fri Personal - 24 / 02 / 21

Dennis Gilbert (D)

Early April Face - 17 / 02 / 21

Hunter Miska (G)

Out indefinitely Illness - 15 / 02 / 21

Cale Makar (D)

Ques Sat Upper Body - 14 / 02 / 21

Samuel Girard (D)

Out indefinitely Illness - 07 / 02 / 21

Gabriel Landeskog (LW)

Prob Sat Illness - 05 / 02 / 21

Tyson Jost (C)

Prob Sat Illness - 03 / 02 / 21

Nathan MacKinnon (C)

Prob Sun Lower Body - 01 / 02 / 21

Erik Johnson (D)

Out indefinitely Upper Body - 31 / 01 / 21

Injuries

St. Louis

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Jacob De La Rose (LW)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 28 / 02 / 21	0-3	2-1	+ -
De La Rose has been shuttled to the injured reserve list with a lower-body injury, and it is unclear how long he will be idle.
Carl Gunnarsson (D)	out for season	Knee - 22 / 02 / 21	0-5	3-2	+ -
Gunnarsson has wound up on the injured reserve list with a knee injury, and he will miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season.
Ivan Barbashev (C)	Mid April	Ankle - 19 / 02 / 21	0-7	3-4	+ -
Barbashev has been assigned to the injured reserve list after undergoing ankle surgery, and he is not expected to return until the middle of April.
Colton Parayko (D)	Out indefinitely	Undisclosed - 18 / 02 / 21	0-7	3-4	+ -
Parayko is sidelined with an undisclosed issue, and he will miss an undetermined length of time.
Torey Krug (D)	Prob Thurs	Upper Body - 15 / 02 / 21	0-8	4-4	+ -
Krug was lifted from the previous contest with an upper-body injury, but he is likely to line up against the Sharks on Thursday.
Jaden Schwartz (LW)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 13 / 02 / 21	1-9	5-5	+ -
Schwartz is out of the lineup with a lower-body injury, and a timetable for recovery has yet to be established.
Sammy Blais (LW)	Out indefinitely	Undisclosed - 06 / 02 / 21	1-11	6-6	+ -
Blais is out of the lineup with an undefined ailment, and team officials have yet to provide an exact return date.
Zach Sanford (LW)	Ques Mon	Flu - 06 / 02 / 21	1-11	6-6	+ -
Sanford was held out of the last game with the flu, and it has yet to be established if he will be active for Monday's matchup versus the Coyotes.
Marco Scandella (D)	Out indefinitely	Upper Body - 06 / 02 / 21	1-11	6-6	+ -
Scandella is out of the lineup with an upper-body injury, and it is unclear how long he will be idle.
Robert Thomas (C)	Early April	Thumb - 06 / 02 / 21	1-11	6-6	+ -
Thomas has been designated for the injured reserve list with a fractured left thumb and is expected to miss four to six weeks.

Colorado

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Cale Makar (D)	Ques Wed	Upper Body - 28 / 02 / 21	1-2	2-1	+ -
Makar missed the last game due to an upper-body injury, and it is unclear if he will be available Wednesday versus the Sharks.
Brandon Saad (LW)	Ques Fri	Personal - 24 / 02 / 21	1-4	3-2	+ -
Saad missed the previous game to be with his wife for the birth of their child, and it is unknown if he will be available for Friday's contest versus the Coyotes.
Dennis Gilbert (D)	Early April	Face - 17 / 02 / 21	3-5	3-5	+ -
Gilbert has wound up on the injured reserve with a facial injury, and he is projected to miss four to six weeks of action.
Hunter Miska (G)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 15 / 02 / 21	3-5	3-5	+ -
Miska has been placed on the COVID-19 Protocol list, and he is without a definitive timetable for recovery.
Cale Makar (D)	Ques Sat	Upper Body - 14 / 02 / 21	3-5	3-5	+ -
Makar has missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury, and it remains to be seen if he will lace up against the Golden Knights on Saturday.
Samuel Girard (D)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 07 / 02 / 21	3-5	3-5	+ -
Girard has wound up on the COVID-19 Protocol list, and it is unclear how long he will be idle.
Gabriel Landeskog (LW)	Prob Sat	Illness - 05 / 02 / 21	3-6	3-6	+ -
Landeskog has been designated for the COVID-19 Protocol list, but he is projected to lace up against the Golden Knights on Saturday.
Tyson Jost (C)	Prob Sat	Illness - 03 / 02 / 21	3-7	4-6	+ -
Jost has been added to the COVID-19 Protocol list, but it is anticipated that he will return for Saturday's clash with the Golden Knights.
Nathan MacKinnon (C)	Prob Sun	Lower Body - 01 / 02 / 21	4-7	5-6	+ -
MacKinnon is out of action with a lower-body injury, but it is likely that he will return against the Golden Knights on Sunday.
Erik Johnson (D)	Out indefinitely	Upper Body - 31 / 01 / 21	5-7	5-7	+ -
Johnson has ended up on the injured reserve list with an upper-body injury, and it is uncertain how much time he will need to heal.