The Colorado Avalanched evened their first-round series against the Dallas Stars 2-2 over the weekend after jumping out to an early lead and never letting go. Suddenly, this opening-round action becomes a best-of-three affair over the coming days as these rivals look to survive and punch their ticket to the conference semifinals.
With puck drop scheduled for 9:30 p.m. EST tonight, here’s a Stars vs. Avalanche prediction and best bet for Game 5 in Dallas.
Stars vs. Avalanche prediction, pick
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Avalanche are -135 Moneyline favorites to win Game 5 despite playing as the away team. They’re +180 to cover the -1.5 puck line. On the other hand, the Stars come in as +114 Moneyline underdogs at home while they’re -218 to cover the +1.5 puck line.
Betting this series feels impossible at this point. The Avs won 5-1 in Game 1 and 4-0 in Game 4, but suffered 4-3 and 2-1 defeats in Game 2 and 3. The Stars are so unpredictable — some nights they just come out flat showing signs of the team that lost eight straight games heading into the postseason, but they’ve locked in and handled business to the tune of two overtime wins in the other contests.
Back on their home ice tonight, the Stars should see a boost from the atmosphere in front of their own fans. They must shake off the ugly loss suffered last time out and star defenseman Miro Heiskanen remains out, but goaltender Jake Oettinger saw some extra rest after being pulled early from Dallas’ prior contest. The stats don’t show it, but he’s made some incredible saves thus far in the series.
Avalanche netminder Mackenzie Blackwood is also playing fantastic hockey in his first-ever playoff series. With the play in net between both teams, under 0.5 first-period goals actually holds some appeal at +120 odds.
Best bet: Under 0.5 1st Period Goals (+120)
