Wild vs Avs Hockey Odds
The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild will decide their opening round playoff series on Wednesday night when the series shifts back to Denver for a deciding Game 7. The teams meet in the sandwich game on an exciting night on the ice in a Game 7 necessitated by Minnesota’s 5-2 win on Monday.
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First-round Game 7
Series tied 3-3
Minnesota Wild (3-3) at Colorado Avalanche (3-3)
Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Time: 9:30 PM ET
In Canada? Try Pinnacle
Venue: Pepsi Center
City: Denver, Colorado
O/U Odds: 5
Money Line: Colorado -134, Minnesota +124
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Wild forward Zach Parise had a huge game for the Wild in Game 6, racking up a pair of goals and a pair of helpers in a four-point night, even scoring the game-winning goal in the third period. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper was back in fine form, stopping 21 of the 23 shots he faced in the win.
As for the Avalanche, their young team has been far better in their own building than they have been on the road, a fact no more evident than in the stat line of young gun Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon exploded onto the national stage by recording seven points in his first two postseason games, though went silent in Games 3 and 4 in Minnesota.
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He then put up another three-point effort in Denver in Game 5, before again being held pointless and coming away with a minus-3 rating in Game 6 in Minnesota.
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This game could come down to which goaltender has a better performance. Neither side has gotten especially effective goaltending thus far in the season. Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov won a team-record 41 games during the regular year, breaking the record set by current head coach Patrick Roy, though that play hasn’t carried over into the postseason.
The Wild have gone with Darcy Kuemper after pulling Ilya Bryzgalov. Kuemper had a 1.53 GAA during the regular year, though he’s been shaky at times in the playoffs. The youngster will now be called on to play one of the biggest games of his hockey career on Wednesday.
The young Avalanche have been able to win on their home ice, but the pressure-packed road games have been too much for the team. Now, they’ll be thrust into their most pressure-packed game yet in a Game 7. This is one the veteran Wild should be to set the pace in, and that’s going to spell bad news for the Avalanche.
Additionally, neither goaltender has much of a pedigree for games like this, and neither goaltender has been playing especially well of late. That could mean plenty of goals come Wednesday night.
NHL Playoff Pick
The Wild are 7-2 in their last nine games played on one day of rest, and they are 3-1 in the last four meetings between these teams.
The over is 6-2 in the last eight meetings between these teams, and it is 7-2 in the Wild’s last nine games overall.
The play: Minnesota +124, Over 5
