Colorado vs Vancouver | Betting Preview, Odds, Pick

NHL Pick – Desperate Colorado at Vancouver

The Colorado Avalanche travel to the west coast on Tuesday night in hopes of using their game in hand over the Calgary Flames to increase their lead for the final Western Conference playoff spot. A win against Vancouver would almost certainly put the Avs into the playoffs and send a message to the rest of the Western Conference that they are indeed back to form and are ready to make a run in next week’s playoffs.

Colorado Avalanche (42-29-7) @ Vancouver Canucks (47-27-4)
10:00 PM ET, Tuesday, April 6, 2010
General Motors Place, Vancouver, British Columbia

• The Vancouver Canucks rank 2nd on offense, and average 3.2 goals per game. The Canucks are 21.3% on the power play and have 67 power play goals.
• The Colorado Avalanche rank 6th on offense, and average 2.9 goals per game. The Avalanche are 18.5% on the power play and have 56 power play goals.
• The Canucks average 3.5 goals per game at home, and give up 2.1 goals against on defense.
• The Avalanche average 2.7 goals per game on the road, and give up 3.0 goals against on defense.

Colorado Avalanche:

The Colorado Avalanche have emerged from the pile of snow that appeared to be smothering them over the last two or so weeks.  Sunday’s win against Western Conference leading San Jose, combined with Calgary’s loss to Chicago has opened the door for the Avs to return to the playoffs. A win on Tuesday night, combined with a Calgary loss to San Jose would clinch a post season berth for the upstart Avs. They are currently two points up on the Flames and they own a game in hand over Calgary.

A 3-6-1 record over their past 10 games hardly inspires confidence in the Avalanche team. They are 1-4 in their last five games and have given up an alarming 21 goals over that span. Milan Hejduk and Peter Meuller have emerged from their semi-slump and are starting to find their scoring touch again while youngsters Chris Stewart and Matt Duchene continue their late season power outage. Goaltender Craig Anderson has been inconsistent as of late and will have to pick up his game, especially against the NHL’s second ranked offense.

Vancouver Canucks:

The Vancouver Canucks have clinched the Northwest Division title and have guaranteed themselves home ice in the first round of the playoffs. After a humiliating 8-3 loss in Los Angeles on Thursday night, the Canucks have rebounded with two straight overtime wins. Vancouver is an unimpressive 5-4-1 in their last 10 games and will be looking to reignite their offense and to tighten up their defense before a playoff run begins next week.

The Vancouver Canucks have been an offensive machine all season and have weathered injuries to such players as Daniel Sedin and Mikael Sameulsson. They have six players with at least 24 goals so suffice to say, offense will not be their problem going forward. Roberto Luongo is the big question mark. Surprisingly, he has been the weak link on many nights for the otherwise solid Canucks. Lou has vowed to play hard for the rest of the season and to work himself out of his funk. He will be an important X-factor for the Canucks in their drive for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The Colorado Avalanche might be visiting the Canucks at precisely the right time. Coach Alain Vigneault figures to reduce the playing time of some of his key contributors, leaving the door open for the Avs to break a four game losing skid against their Northwest Division rivals. Is there an upset in the making? Don’t think so!

Pick: Vancouver Canucks