Game 1 Avalanche vs Stars Prediction, Odds & Player Prop Picks (Tuesday, May. 7)

Mar 4, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) and center Wyatt Johnston (53) and Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) look for the puck in the Stars zone during the third period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

• Avalanche begin their Round 1 NHL Playoff series on Tuesday night
• The Game 1 Avalanche vs Stars odds favor Dallas to take a 1-0 series lead
• Read below for Game 1 Avalanche vs Stars Game 1

The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars play Game 1 of their Western Conference Semi-Finals matchup on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center. Puck drop is at 9:30 pm ET, with ESPN carrying the broadcast.

The Stars, who eliminated the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games in the first round, are slight -125 favorites at home. The Avalanche, who knocked off the Winnipeg Jets in five games, come in as +106 underdogs. The over/under for the game is set at 6.5 goals.

Here’s our Avs vs Stars prediction for Tuesday night, along with betting odds and player prop picks.

Avalanche vs Stars Prediction

Both teams are coming off impressive first-round victories, but in very different ways. The Avalanche dominated the Jets, outscoring them 28-14 over the five-game series. Colorado’s offense was firing on all cylinders, led by Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar, who each tallied two goals and seven assists.

The Avalanche also got significant contributions from depth players like Valeri Nichushkin (seven goals) and Artturi Lehkonen (five goals).

The Stars, on the other hand, had to battle back from a 2-0 series deficit against the Golden Knights. Dallas leaned on their strong defensive play and goaltending from Jake Oettinger to win four of the next five games. Oettinger posted an impressive 1.95 GAA and a .925 save percentage in the series.

Jake Oettinger celebrates his second career Game 7 victory! 🦦 pic.twitter.com/0dgevC7Gqp

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 6, 2024

In the regular season, the Avalanche won three of the four meetings between these two teams, but the Stars claimed the top seed in the West with 113 points, six more than Colorado.

Given the offensive firepower on both rosters, this series has the potential to be relatively high-scoring. However, with Oettinger’s strong goaltending and the Stars’ defensive shutdown ability, we predict Game 1 to be a tighter-checking affair as both teams look to establish their game plan.

Game 1 Picks:

• Stars ML (-125)
• Under 6.5 (-115)

Avalanche vs Stars Odds

The Stars are currently favored to win Game 1 with a moneyline of -125, while the Avalanche are underdogs at +105. This means that a $125 bet on the Stars would return $100 in profit, while a $100 bet on the Avalanche would return $105 in profit.

The implied probability of these odds suggests that the Stars have a 56% chance of winning the game, while the Avalanche have a 48.5% chance.

The Stars are favored due to their home-ice advantage and their strong defensive play in the first round. The Avalanche, despite their impressive offensive display against the Jets, are underdogs on the road against an elite defensive team that allowed the fewest goals in the regular season.

Avalanche vs Stars Player Props

In the NHL player props market, Nathan MacKinnon has the best odds to find twine at -115. While Nate Dogg is the only odds-on favorite to score, Mikko Rantanen (+125) and Valeri Nichushkin (+145) also have favorable odds to light the lamp.

Here are a couple of player props to consider for Game 1:

Wyatt Johnston (Stars) Over 0.5 points (-140):

Johnston led the Stars with four goals and three assists in the first round and has been playing on the top line. He has a good chance to continue his strong play against the Avalanche.

Cale Makar (Avalanche) Over 0.5 points (-150):

Makar is one of the best offensive defensemen in the league and tallied two goals and seven assists in the first round. He should be involved in the Avalanche’s offensive attack in the series opener.

Avalanche vs Stars Injury Report

The Avalanche are relatively healthy coming into this series, with only forward Jonathan Drouin listed as out with a lower-body injury. Colorado should benefit from the additional rest they received after their first-round victory.

For the Stars, forwards Mason Marchment and Jani Hakanpaa are listed as day-to-day. Coach Peter DeBoer said he hopes both could return at some point in this series.

Overall, both teams are in good shape injury-wise heading into Game 1.

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