by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Feb 27, 2023
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Venue: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Where to watch: ATTSN-RM, ALT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Avalanche -140, Golden Knights +120
FanDuel: Avalanche -142, Golden Knights +118
BetMGM: Avalanche -140, Golden Knights +115
Caesars: Avalanche -141, Golden Knights +118
Season record
Golden Knights: 35-18-6
Avalanche: 33-19-5
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Golden Knights - Avalanche preview, prediction and analysis
The Vegas Golden Knights will be playing the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, February 27 in Denver, Colorado.
The Vegas Golden Knights lost against the Dallas Stars on Saturday, February 25 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with a score of 3-2 resulting from a shootout. The Vegas Golden Knights currently rank 1st in the Pacific Division.
Laurent Brossoit made 41 saves for Vegas (35-18-6), which is 6-0-2 since the All-Star break.
Brossoit is 1-0-2 in three starts since being recalled from Henderson of the American Hockey League.
"It's three good ones. Should be three wins for [Brossoit]. Unfortunately, he only got the one," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "All the games have gone into extra time. He's done his job very well for us. I'm happy for him. He's a hard-working guy who's worked to get back to this point now this year. It's too bad we couldn't put him in the win column every night. Big picture he's given us solid goaltending."
Michael Amadio gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 12:00 of the second period when he redirected a slap pass from Brayden McNabb at the right post.
"[Amadio's] done a good job. He's a guy over the years who's been more a playmaker than a greasy guy," Cassidy said. "It's what's in front of him. You want to play? You want to play more? That's the ask right now."
Wyatt Johnston tied it 1-1 at 14:02, jamming the puck into an open net at the left post after he kicked a backdoor pass from Ty Dellandrea to his stick.
Jack Eichel put the Golden Knights back in front 2-1 at 15:24 of the third period. He received a touch pass from Chandler Stephenson with speed at the blue line, warded off Joel Hanley, and tucked the puck inside Oettinger's pad at the right post.
Brossoit made a highlight-reel save at 1:02 of overtime to get the game to a shootout for Vegas. With his back to the net while lying on the ice, he whipped his arm backward in a windmill motion to stop Tyler Seguin's shot into an open net.
"Some of the best saves mean you're out of position," Brossoit said. "That I was. I kind of threw my glove at it. Luckily, he shot at the one spot that I could have gotten it."
Roope Hintz tied it 2-2 when he shot through a screen from the top of the right circle, and the Dallas Stars ended a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win.
The Vegas Golden Knights have won six of their last 10 games.
The Colorado Avalanche won against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, February 25 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado with a score of 4-1. The Colorado Avalanche currently rank 3rd in the Central Division.
Mikko Rantanen scored for the fourth straight game. Nathan MacKinnon scored to extend his point streak to seven games (seven goals, eight assists), but his multipoint game streak ended at six.
"It's been fun. Physically, I think we all feel good," MacKinnon said. "It will be nice when we get some guys back though. I don't know when, but eventually it'll be good. We're definitely playing a lot with 11 forwards, so we could use a twelfth."
Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves for the Avalanche (33-19-5), who completed their third straight back-to-back set, going 5-0-1.
"I thought the team was fantastic this weekend. Two really good, solid, complete games on both sides of the puck, so it's a real nice finish," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "That's what the League requires in order to win at this time of the year."
MacKinnon gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 3:05 of the first period when he picked up a loose puck, skated into the right circle and scored near post on a wrist shot.
"It's huge. In every team we played, we're kind of in the battle for a playoff spot. Just crazy," MacKinnon said. "They're all waiting for us each time, too, so it wasn't like they're on a back to back as well, so it's been a weird schedule, the whole week off and then another back to back, but we're hopefully getting a start to our rhythm more here. [We] play more frequently every other day, which is definitely preferable."
Alex Newhook extended the lead to 2-0 at 8:22 when his slap shot from above the left circle found its way through traffic.
"Great traffic going to the net," Bednar said. "[We] break the goalie's eyesight. It was a great shot. Yeah, bar in. When you're getting depth scoring, it's a difference between playing really tight games or being able to continue to use the whole bench and not cruise to victories, but at least you got a little breathing room at the end of the game."
Rantanen made it 3-0 at 2:42 of the second period when Valeri Nichushkin's one-timer deflected off his glove in front for a power-play goal. Tyler Toffoli cut the lead to 3-1 with his own power-play goal at 17:20 when his angled shot from below the goal line caromed off the extended skate of Georgiev. It was his 25th goal of the season.
Denis Malgin pushed it to 4-1 at 4:12 of the third period. He made a move above the circles to cut between two defenders before shooting over Markstrom's shoulder.
"I had good speed and I saw three guys in front of me," Malgin said. "I saw the little opening there. I just moved the puck there and, yeah, then I shot it."
The Colorado Avalanche have won seven of their last 10 games.
Prediction
This is the kind of game we need from this matchup. Barely any injuries, the road team playing well because of goaltending. If Vegas wins, the fans will become insufferable. Golden Knights 3, Avalanche 2
The Vegas Golden Knights lost against the Dallas Stars on Saturday, February 25 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with a score of 3-2 resulting from a shootout. The Vegas Golden Knights currently rank 1st in the Pacific Division.
Laurent Brossoit made 41 saves for Vegas (35-18-6), which is 6-0-2 since the All-Star break.
Brossoit is 1-0-2 in three starts since being recalled from Henderson of the American Hockey League.
"It's three good ones. Should be three wins for [Brossoit]. Unfortunately, he only got the one," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "All the games have gone into extra time. He's done his job very well for us. I'm happy for him. He's a hard-working guy who's worked to get back to this point now this year. It's too bad we couldn't put him in the win column every night. Big picture he's given us solid goaltending."
Michael Amadio gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 12:00 of the second period when he redirected a slap pass from Brayden McNabb at the right post.
"[Amadio's] done a good job. He's a guy over the years who's been more a playmaker than a greasy guy," Cassidy said. "It's what's in front of him. You want to play? You want to play more? That's the ask right now."
Wyatt Johnston tied it 1-1 at 14:02, jamming the puck into an open net at the left post after he kicked a backdoor pass from Ty Dellandrea to his stick.
Jack Eichel put the Golden Knights back in front 2-1 at 15:24 of the third period. He received a touch pass from Chandler Stephenson with speed at the blue line, warded off Joel Hanley, and tucked the puck inside Oettinger's pad at the right post.
Brossoit made a highlight-reel save at 1:02 of overtime to get the game to a shootout for Vegas. With his back to the net while lying on the ice, he whipped his arm backward in a windmill motion to stop Tyler Seguin's shot into an open net.
"Some of the best saves mean you're out of position," Brossoit said. "That I was. I kind of threw my glove at it. Luckily, he shot at the one spot that I could have gotten it."
Roope Hintz tied it 2-2 when he shot through a screen from the top of the right circle, and the Dallas Stars ended a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win.
The Vegas Golden Knights have won six of their last 10 games.
The Colorado Avalanche won against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, February 25 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado with a score of 4-1. The Colorado Avalanche currently rank 3rd in the Central Division.
Mikko Rantanen scored for the fourth straight game. Nathan MacKinnon scored to extend his point streak to seven games (seven goals, eight assists), but his multipoint game streak ended at six.
"It's been fun. Physically, I think we all feel good," MacKinnon said. "It will be nice when we get some guys back though. I don't know when, but eventually it'll be good. We're definitely playing a lot with 11 forwards, so we could use a twelfth."
Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves for the Avalanche (33-19-5), who completed their third straight back-to-back set, going 5-0-1.
"I thought the team was fantastic this weekend. Two really good, solid, complete games on both sides of the puck, so it's a real nice finish," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "That's what the League requires in order to win at this time of the year."
MacKinnon gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 3:05 of the first period when he picked up a loose puck, skated into the right circle and scored near post on a wrist shot.
"It's huge. In every team we played, we're kind of in the battle for a playoff spot. Just crazy," MacKinnon said. "They're all waiting for us each time, too, so it wasn't like they're on a back to back as well, so it's been a weird schedule, the whole week off and then another back to back, but we're hopefully getting a start to our rhythm more here. [We] play more frequently every other day, which is definitely preferable."
Alex Newhook extended the lead to 2-0 at 8:22 when his slap shot from above the left circle found its way through traffic.
"Great traffic going to the net," Bednar said. "[We] break the goalie's eyesight. It was a great shot. Yeah, bar in. When you're getting depth scoring, it's a difference between playing really tight games or being able to continue to use the whole bench and not cruise to victories, but at least you got a little breathing room at the end of the game."
Rantanen made it 3-0 at 2:42 of the second period when Valeri Nichushkin's one-timer deflected off his glove in front for a power-play goal. Tyler Toffoli cut the lead to 3-1 with his own power-play goal at 17:20 when his angled shot from below the goal line caromed off the extended skate of Georgiev. It was his 25th goal of the season.
Denis Malgin pushed it to 4-1 at 4:12 of the third period. He made a move above the circles to cut between two defenders before shooting over Markstrom's shoulder.
"I had good speed and I saw three guys in front of me," Malgin said. "I saw the little opening there. I just moved the puck there and, yeah, then I shot it."
The Colorado Avalanche have won seven of their last 10 games.
Prediction
This is the kind of game we need from this matchup. Barely any injuries, the road team playing well because of goaltending. If Vegas wins, the fans will become insufferable. Golden Knights 3, Avalanche 2
Betting trends
Golden Knights are 8-5 after a home loss this season.
Golden Knights are 28-14 off a one-goal loss last game in the last 3 seasons.
Avalanche are 13-9 revenging a loss this season.
Projected lines
Golden Knights:
Paul Cotter -- Jack Eichel -- Jonathan Marchessault
Reilly Smith -- William Karlsson -- Michael Amadio
William Carrier -- Chandler Stephenson -- Phil Kessel
Brett Howden -- Ivan Barbashev -- Keegan Kolesar
Alec Martinez -- Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague -- Zach Whitecloud
Laurent Brossoit
Paul Cotter -- Jack Eichel -- Jonathan Marchessault
Reilly Smith -- William Karlsson -- Michael Amadio
William Carrier -- Chandler Stephenson -- Phil Kessel
Brett Howden -- Ivan Barbashev -- Keegan Kolesar
Alec Martinez -- Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague -- Zach Whitecloud
Laurent Brossoit
Avalanche:
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Valeri Nichushkin
Evan Rodrigues -- J.T. Compher -- Mikko Rantanen
Denis Malgin -- Alex Newhook -- Logan O'Connor
Andrew Cogliano -- Matt Nieto
Samuel Girard -- Devon Toews
Bowen Byram -- Josh Manson
Andreas Englund -- Kurtis MacDermid
Brad Hunt
Alexandar Georgiev
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Valeri Nichushkin
Evan Rodrigues -- J.T. Compher -- Mikko Rantanen
Denis Malgin -- Alex Newhook -- Logan O'Connor
Andrew Cogliano -- Matt Nieto
Samuel Girard -- Devon Toews
Bowen Byram -- Josh Manson
Andreas Englund -- Kurtis MacDermid
Brad Hunt
Alexandar Georgiev
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
