Predators vs Avalanche

Colorado enters this one having dropped just one of its last four while Nashville rides a two-game win streak after tight home wins over Washington and Edmonton, setting up a classic clash between a powerhouse trying to bounce back from an overtime loss to Toronto and a bubble team fighting to stay above water in the Central. With the Predators missing key pieces like Jonathan Marchessault on injured reserve and blue-line depth options Adam Wilsby and Nicolas Hague banged up, Colorado’s injury list (Devon Toews and Gabriel Landeskog among those sidelined) still feels less disruptive because of its superior depth and existing defensive core. Nathan MacKinnon is in full MVP mode with 36 goals and 81 points in 45 games, and he’s shredded Nashville over the past few seasons, while Cale Makar has consistently driven play and produced against the Predators, and Filip Forsberg plus Juuse Saros are being asked to shoulder an enormous load just to keep Nashville competitive. The Avs have already handled Nashville comfortably in Denver this season, and with Nashville carrying a negative goal differential around midseason while Colorado sits atop the Central, the talent gap, current form, and matchup history all tilt this heavily toward the home side; the price is steep, so the bet grades as a B for combining a high win probability with limited standalone value unless you’re using it as a parlay anchor. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 16/01/2026 09:31

Nashville’s recent surge has been driven more by timely offense than lockdown defense, and Colorado has been trading chances a bit more in its last few outings, which matters against a Predators side that still gives up over three goals per game on average and has leaned heavily on Saros to erase mistakes. The injury hits to Nashville’s defensive depth (Hague and Wilsby) plus the absence of Marchessault remove some puck-moving and transition support, making it harder to slow Colorado’s rush game, while Colorado’s own injuries to Toews and Landeskog slightly erode their defensive structure but keep plenty of firepower in the lineup. The market total at 6.5 is justified when you look at Colorado’s elite offensive drivers — MacKinnon, Makar, Martin Necas, Brock Nelson and Artturi Lehkonen — facing a Predators team whose top-end talent like Forsberg, Stamkos and O’Reilly has historically produced well against the Avalanche, and the teams’ season-long scoring profiles point to combined goal outputs right around or slightly above this number. Factor in midseason playoff pressure for Nashville, which often leads to more aggressive push if they fall behind, and Colorado’s tendency to pull away at home with empty-net insurance, and the Over 6.5 at a modest price gets a B- grade: decent upside with reasonable, but far from guaranteed, likelihood in a game where Saros’ performance could still drag this into a lower-scoring result. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 16/01/2026 09:31

Given Colorado’s overall dominance and Nashville’s negative goal differential at this stage of the season, the puckline comes into play once you consider how often Avalanche wins at Ball Arena turn into multi-goal results, especially when their top six tilts the ice and forces opponents to chase. Nashville’s thin blue line without a fully healthy Hague and Wilsby, plus Marchessault’s absence up front, increases the likelihood that Forsberg, Stamkos and O’Reilly are forced into heavy minutes and tougher defensive usage, while Colorado can still roll out MacKinnon, Necas, Lehkonen and a Makar-led back end even with Toews and Landeskog out. Historically, Saros has excelled against Colorado and could absolutely ruin a puckline ticket on his own, but recent head-to-heads include a 3-0 Avalanche win and a 4-2 Colorado home victory, and when Nashville’s structure breaks, it tends to break big — a concern against one of the league’s highest-scoring teams with strong underlying shot and chance numbers. With the Avs firmly in control of the division race and Nashville hovering around the playoff bubble at midseason, score effects favor Colorado pressing for separation and Nashville opening up in the third, which supports laying -1.5 at -125 for a B-grade wager that meaningfully improves your payout while still leaning into the clear gap between these rosters. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 16/01/2026 09:31