Bruins vs Avalanche Money Line & Puck Line

The Boston Bruins head to the Rockies to take on the Colorado Avalanche this Saturday night, January 20th. The puck drops at 3 pm at the Pepsi Center and both teams have a lot to play for in this contest. The Avalanche (24-17-6) are second in the Northwest Division, 12 points behind Vancouver. The Bruins (26-14-7) are on top of the Atlantic Division by just one point. The Avalanche come in as slight favorites at home.

Bruins at Avalanche Money Line, Puck Line & Total Odds

As you can see below, the lines haven’t been posted at a few of our favorite sports betting sites. When they are, we’ll update this post with the latest money line, puck line, and total odds.

Boston Bruins vs Colorado Avalanche Game Preview

For Boston, goaltender Tim Thomas has been on top of his game in recent weeks. The Bruins blitzed Carolina by a combined score of 10-2, winning a home series against the Hurricanes last weekend. The Atlantic Division leaders have won and lost games this year on defense, but their offense has been getting better every week. Boston has scored 29 goals in its last six games, but head coach Claude Julien will never opt for a wide open style ala Colorado. For Julien, it begins and ends in the net, and the Bruins coach has shown more confidence in Thomas as his goaltender. The 35 year old veteran has responded, winning his last four starts. The back-up net-minder is Tuukka Rask who could be a number one for many other teams in the league.

The Bruins offense is led by tough guy Milan Lucic but is balanced. Lucic’s 17 goals and 13 assists (30 points) are only topped by Patrice Bergeron for total points (36) and David Krejci for assists (23). Yet, his grit and hard nosed play carries Boston every night. These three players key Boston’s attack. The highly anticipated return of center Marc Savard from injury has yielded mostly disappointment so far. He has two goals and seven assists in 23 games but he is a minus five to date. The supporting cast has been Mark Recchi with 29 points plus Nathan Horton and Michael Ryder with 28 points.

Colorado owns a mediocre 13-9-3 record at home but have defeated both the Canucks and the Detroit Red Wings at the Pepsi Center in the past two weeks. The Avalanche is the fourth highest scoring team in the league but have the 28th ranked defense. Center Matt Duchene leads the attack with 43 points off 18 goals and 25 assists. Right wing Milan Hejduk is close behind with 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists). Defenseman John-Michael Liles leads the club with 28 assists and has been fantastic on the power play this season. The 30-year old defenseman is also a plus 12 for the season.

The Colorado Avalanche feature several young scorers including 25-year old Paul Stastny who has 38 points, and third line center Ryan O’Reilly with 15 points. The 19 year-old was feared lost for the season earlier in the week when he crashed awkwardly into the boards. He injured his shoulder which will not require surgery but he will miss a few weeks.

Goaltender Craig Anderson has a goals against average of 2.98 and has won his last two starts after dropping his previous three. Peter Budaj was won 11 games this year with a 3.12 goals against average.

Bruins at Avalanche Free Betting Pick

The Boston Bruins are as tough to score on as anyone, but Colorado usually finds a way. Boston is opening a quick two-game west coast road trip and the weather may delay their arrival on Friday. Boston is deeper and tougher while Colorado is faster and at home. Take the Avalanche in this one as they tend to play well against the NHL’s better teams.

Bet on the Avalanche -120 at BetOnline.com