The Western Conference No. 1 seed Nashville Predators did what they were supposed to do in the first two games against the No. 8 Colorado Avalanche: Hold serve at home. Their first-round series playoff series shifts to Denver for Game 3 on Monday night.

Predators vs Avalanche Stanley Cup Playoff Betting Analysis

If the Preds are going to continue to average five goals per game, you can go ahead and start engraving the names of the Nashville players on the Stanley Cup. They have scored five in each of the first two games vs. Colorado.

Nashville has won 12 straight games overall vs. the Avalanche and was 2-0 in Denver during the regular season. The Preds won 4-3 in overtime there on March 4. Filip Forsberg scored at 1:07 of OT. Ryan Ellis had tied it with 1:06 left in regulation with Rinne off for an extra attacker. Semyon Varlamov was in net for the Avalanche – he’s currently out injured.

On March 16 at the Pepsi Center, the Predators won 4-2. Colton Sissons and Forsberg each scored twice, and backup goaltender Juuse Saros stopped 33 shots. The only way Saros sees the ice in the playoffs is if Rinne is injured. Varlamov started that one as well for Colorado.

On the Sports Interaction NHL odds, the Predators are -5000 on the series line with the Avalanche at +900. The favoured exact result is Nashville in a sweep at +140. The shortest Avalanche odds are winning in seven at +1800. Nashville’s odds to win the West are +162.

Nashville Predators

Nashville is on an eight-game winning streak in the conference quarterfinals. In 2016, it won the final two of a series against Anaheim but then lost in seven to San Jose. Last year, the Preds were a No. 8 seed when they stunningly swept No. 1 Chicago on the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Nashville followed a 5-2 victory in Game 1 with a 5-4 decision in Game 2 on Saturday. Ryan Hartman, acquired around the trade deadline from the Blackhawks, scored the eventual winner Saturday with 1:09 left. It was his first career playoff goal. Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist, and Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen and Austin Watson scored a goal each. P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm each had two assists. Rinne made 26 saves.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche aren’t playing badly as they’ve led in both games. Star Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and assist in Game 2 as did Gabriel Landeskog. Defenceman Tyson Barrie had two assists. He left briefly after being hit in the face by a puck that deflected off goalie Jonathan Bernier’s stick. Bernier allowed four goals on 32 shots (one goal was an empty-netter). The Avs, already without injured blueliner Erik Johnson, didn’t have another in rookie Samuel Girard as he was scratched for Game 2 with an upper-body injury. Duncan Siemens replaced him in the lineup.

Predators vs. Avalanche Game 3 Prediction