Blue Jackets vs Avalanche

Colorado sits at 32-4-7 and a ridiculous 18-0-2 at Ball Arena with 16 straight home wins, while Columbus arrives 18-18-7 and on a three-game skid to start this western trip after a 5-2 loss in San Jose and 5-3 collapse in Vegas, just a week removed from their high-water 5-1 win in Buffalo. With current rosters confirmed, the Avalanche are still rolling out an elite core of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas and Brock Nelson down the middle and on the power play, whereas the Blue Jackets’ offense leans heavily on Zach Werenski, Boone Jenner, Adam Fantilli and Sean Monahan, plus a Jet Greaves/Elvis Merzlikins tandem in net. Colorado’s only real caveat is health: Gabriel Landeskog and Devon Toews are both out week-to-week with upper-body injuries, and Mackenzie Blackwood, Logan O’Connor and Joel Kiviranta are also sidelined, but their depth pieces (Girard, Manson, Nichushkin, Lehkonen) have stepped right in. Columbus is at least as banged up, missing Mason Marchment, Miles Wood, Isac Lundestrom, Erik Gudbranson and Brendan Smith, which thins both their wing scoring and their defensive depth in front of overworked goaltenders. Historically, MacKinnon has chewed up this matchup with 7 goals and 19 assists in 22 career games against the Jackets, while Werenski has solid but less game-breaking numbers against Colorado, and the Avs already handled this season series opener 4-1 in Columbus. With both clubs having crossed the 41-game mark, Colorado is chasing historic Presidents’ Trophy territory, whereas Columbus is clinging to the fringes of the East wild-card picture, amplifying the motivation gap tonight. I’m on Avalanche -300 to win outright, graded a B: very high win probability backed by dominant form and matchup edges, but the chalky price limits the overall betting value. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 10/01/2026 09:28

Even with their defensive metrics, this matchup screams offense: Colorado leads the league at roughly 4.0 goals per game and 2.2 against, while Columbus sits closer to 3.0 for and 3.3 against, and the Avalanche have already produced an 8-2 home win over Ottawa on this homestand plus a 4-1 road win in the first meeting with the Jackets. Colorado’s current roster, verified via ESPN, features an absurd amount of playmaking in MacKinnon, Necas, Nelson and Makar, which hasn’t slowed even with Landeskog and Toews out; if anything, it has pushed minutes and usage toward pure offense-first talents. On the other side, Columbus can still score by committee through Werenski’s point-driving from the blue line along with Jenner, Fantilli, Kent Johnson and deep shooters like Dmitri Voronkov, but their banged-up defense (no Gudbranson or Brendan Smith, plus injuries to key middle-six wingers) regularly leaves their goalies facing high shot volumes. MacKinnon’s long-term production versus Columbus and Colorado’s 16-game home winning streak at altitude suggest the Avs can realistically threaten 4–5 goals on their own, and a Jackets team that has hit three or more in 17 of its 43 games doesn’t need a perfect night to push this past 6.5. The risk is that Colorado’s structured five-on-five play pins Columbus to two or fewer and turns this into a 4-1 or 5-1 outcome, but given both teams’ season-long combined scoring rate north of six goals and Colorado’s home game script, I’m willing to ride the offensive profile. Over 6.5 at -143 gets a B-: I like the likelihood of a track meet, but the heavy juice knocks this down from a higher grade. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 10/01/2026 09:28

Given the way Colorado has been steamrolling teams, I prefer laying the puckline to swallowing their moneyline price, especially at plus money. The Avalanche carry a league-best goal differential of roughly +80 through 43 games, are unbeaten in regulation at home, and have won frequently by multiple goals, including an 8-2 thrashing of Ottawa to kick off this homestand and a 4-1 win in Columbus earlier this season that featured a Valeri Nichushkin brace and more MacKinnon magic. Columbus, meanwhile, is underwater in goal differential, has lost three straight on this trip, and now skates without key support players like Marchment, Wood, Lundestrom, Smith and Gudbranson, leaving Werenski and Provorov to soak up brutal minutes against a deep Avalanche forward group that still includes Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Necas, Nelson and multiple dangerous centers from the current ESPN-confirmed roster. With Devon Toews sidelined, Colorado’s top pair leans harder on Makar–Girard, which can actually increase transition chances and odd-man rushes going the other way as the Avs push the pace, while Scott Wedgewood has stabilized their net with strong results behind an elite defensive structure. Nathan MacKinnon’s long-run production versus Columbus and Colorado’s tendency to extend leads rather than sit on them—especially in front of a Next Gen afternoon crowd at Ball Arena—sets up a familiar script where the Jackets hang around early but get overwhelmed in the middle frame. Puckline Avalanche -1.5 at +125 earns a B+ from me: it carries more variance than the moneyline but offers a significantly better return that still aligns with Colorado’s dominant profile and Columbus’ injury-riddled blue line. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 10/01/2026 09:28