The Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Cancuks headline Monday’s NHL schedule.
The pregame narrative: Both teams can be weak on the defensive end, so I’m backing the over on three player props featuring Elias Pettersson and Casey Mittelstadt.
Check out my Avalanche vs. Canucks prop picks.
Avalanche vs. Canucks prop picks
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Best bet: Pettersson to score 1+ points (-150)
Pettersson can be inconsistent but he’s still having a strong season with Vancouver.
The centreman has 26 points in 29 games. On Monday, he faces an Avalanche squad that hasn’t been the best defensive team, by any means.
Colorado allows the fourth-most goals per game (3.5) and has the league’s seventh-worst penalty kill (74.7%). That is cause for concern against a talented offence like the Canucks’.
Considering Pettersson has eight power play points this season, he could easily get on the board against a struggling PK unit.
The forward hasn’t scored a point in back-to-back games, but I like the prospect of him getting on the score sheet on Monday.
Key stat: Pettersson is 16-13 against this line this season.
Quick picks
Mittelstadt to score 1+ points (+105): I like the value of this pick at plus money.
Mittelstadt is fourth on the Avs with 22 points in 32 games. He plays on the first PP unit, where he’s recorded nine points.
That’s unsurprising considering he plays with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar with the man advantage.
He had no points between Nov. 21 and Dec. 5 but has bounced back with four points in the six games since.
His full-season point total is all the more impressive considering he didn’t record a point for an eight-game stretch.
There’s too much talent surrounding Mittelstadt on the second line/PP1 that I can’t pass on this price.
Picks made at 2:03 p.m. ET on 12/16/2024.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.