The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars begin one of the most anticipated series of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday night.
The pregame narrative: The two best teams in the NHL might just be meeting in the first round. Dallas and Colorado are loaded with offensive star power, and I’m betting on a pair of forwards — Matt Duchene and Jonathan Drouin — to find the scoresheet.
Check out my Avalanche vs. Stars prop picks for Game 1 of the opening round.
Avalanche vs. Stars prop picks
Best Bet: Duchene to score 1+ points (-125)
This is a very fair line for somebody who has been Dallas’s most consistent contributor this season.
Duchene scored more points than anybody else wearing a Stars jersey this season, with 82 in 82 contests.
The veteran forward also finds himself in prime positions to produce. He centres Dallas’ top power-play unit and its second line, skating alongside Mason Marchment and the recently returned Tyler Seguin.
Duchene is in fine form ahead of this contest, too. He has a point in eight of his last 11 games and 23 of his last 29.
The benefit of betting on a player like Duchene is that he can get it done as a shooter or a playmaker. Duchene hit the 30-goal plateau for the fourth time this past season and notched a career-high 52 assists.
There should be some extra motivation from Duchene in this series, as he was drafted by the Avs and spent eight seasons with the squad.
Expect him to be one of the Stars’ leading producers in this series.
Key stat: Duchene recorded a point in all three of his outings against the Avalanche this past season.
Quick picks
Drouin to score 1+ points (-107): Injuries limited Drouin to only 43 games, but he was very effective in limited action.
Drouin scored 37 points this season and was a highly productive member of the team’s top six, recording 25 points at even strength.
I’m especially bullish on Drouin’s outlook, though, because of his involvement on the power play. Drouin skates on the top unit alongside elite talents like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Valeri Nichushkin and Martin Necas.
Dallas had one of the best penalty kills in the league, but the Avs did manage a solid 23.1% power-play success rate against their first-round opponents this season.
Drouin was highly effective in his outings against the Stars this year, too. He notched five points across two games.
Avalanche vs. Stars prop picks made at 11:50 a.m. ET 04/19/2025.
Stevie’s an avid NFL, NHL, and tennis bettor who has no problem talking himself into the underdog. His previous stops include Yahoo! Sports Canada and Toronto Metropolitan University, where he received a degree in Sport Media.