NHL Tuesday best bets: Avs, Oilers to stay hot
We split our best bets Monday night. The Islanders picked up two points in Bo Horvat's debut, but the Lightning laid a complete egg in Florida to bring us back to square one.
We'll set our sights higher with a couple more plays for Tuesday's six-game slate.
Avalanche (-110) @ Penguins (-110)
The Avalanche currently sit eighth in the Western Conference and are holding on to a wild-card spot by a thread, but they remain a very dangerous team.
Their place in the standings is a result of an extreme amount of injuries - key players at that - from the word go. They just haven't been remotely healthy for any period of time and have struggled to find their footing as a result. Until now.
Colorado put together a healthy 7-3 run in the 10 games prior to the All-Star break. Now, it will welcome back a couple of important pieces - Valeri Nichushkin and Bowen Byram - set to return to the lineup against the Penguins. The importance of those players cannot be overstated.
Nichushkin is a near point-per-game forward who is as impactful defensively as offensively. This year's Avalanche are 15-3-2 with him in the lineup.
The smooth-skating Byram put up five points in 10 games while averaging nearly 21 minutes per night prior to going down with an injury.
Having those players healthy should lead to more consistent scoring beyond the big guns and allow the offense to really flourish.
A date with Casey DeSmith is a nice "welcome back" spot, as he owns an .897 save percentage in 2023 and has conceded five or more in three of his last four.
Alexandar Georgiev, who has been terrific all season, owns a .939 save percentage over the same period of time. He should give the Avalanche a clear edge between the pipes as a cherry on top.
Look for the Avalanche to pick up their eighth win in 11 games as they begin their ascension up the standings.
Bet: Avalanche (-105)
Oilers (-165) @ Red Wings (+140)
The Oilers are scorching hot. They own a 7-1-2 record over the last 10 games and are full value for it.
At five-on-five, they have scored a league-high 32 goals while conceding only 18, good for a plus-14 differential. Edmonton also ranks first with a high-danger chance share above 60% during that stretch.
Everyone knows the Oilers are as good, or better, as any team on the man advantage. When they're clicking at five-on-five, they're nearly impossible to beat, and we're seeing that right now.
I think they have a great chance of picking up where they left off when they meet the Red Wings in Detroit.
Despite all the offseason changes, the Red Wings remain a very underwhelming team at both ends. They rank bottom five in high-danger chance share over the last 10 games, and only the Blue Jackets have generated fewer high-danger opportunities.
It's going to be difficult for them to create enough offense to keep up with the high-flying Oilers, especially now that Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell are providing competent goaltending every night.
The same can't be said of Red Wings starter Ville Husso, who has hit a bit of a rut of late.
The 28-year-old netminder has posted an .899 save percentage through 10 appearances this calendar year. That's not going to cut it for a team struggling to create offense.
With edges across the board, I expect the red-hot Oilers to take care of business inside 60 minutes.
Bet: Oilers in regulation (-115)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.