The Stanley Cup playoffs resume on Wednesday, and the lone game on the slate pits the Minnesota Wild (1-3) against the Colorado Avalanche (3-1). The Avalanche grinded out a 5-2 road victory on Monday, and now they'll look to close out the series when they return home tonight. There is no shortage of ways to get in on the action from a sports betting perspective. Below, I'll touch on the key metrics and trends for Game 5, as well as provide you with my top wager on the ice. Here's my favorite NHL picks for Wednesday, May 13th.
Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver, CO.
Wednesday's Best NHL Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of BetMGM)
Minnesota Wild (+170) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-210) | O/U 6.5 (-102/-118)
The Avalanche are more than 2-1 favorites to punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals tonight, sitting at -210 on the Moneyline. The Wild are +170 to win and extend the series. The total for Game 5 is 6.5 goals, which is consistent with the first four games of the series.
Aside from Game 1, which featured 15 combined goals, it hasn't always been smooth sailing to reach these final scores over the pregame total. Nonetheless, we've seen seven or more goals in three of the first four games, with the average contest producing 8.8 goals.
From a trends standpoint, the over is 5-1 in Minnesota's last six games, both overall and on the road. Colorado is also on a 5-1 run to the over, and the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings between the teams when the game is in Denver.
What these teams do best is score goals. During the regular season, the Avalanche led the NHL in scoring (3.59 GAA), while the Wild were 12th (3.21). The teams were second (323) and ninth (295) in high-danger shots on goal, respectively.
Circling back to the postseason, neither penalty-killing unit has been sharp. Colorado ranks just 12th (78.57%), while Minnesota's is 15th (59.46%). Add in that none of the goaltenders in this series are truly elite, and I think we'll see these high-octane offenses find success once again. Give me the over.
Bet: Over 6.5 Goals (-102)
