Who doesn't love a hockey Thursday? In this week's edition, the Colorado Avalanche will head to the desert to take on the Arizona Coyotes in what should be an absolute treat. Join us for our NHL odds series where our Avalanche-Coyotes prediction and pick will be revealed.

It's officially official… the Avalanche are red-hot! Outside of squandering a two-goal lead in the final minutes in a loss to the Nashville Predators back on Nov. 20th, Colorado has won seven out of their last eight games and are simply rolling their opponents. As it stands, the Avalanche are 15-6-0 and sit alone on top of the Central Division Standings with 30 points.

Meanwhile, Arizona hasn't been as fortunate with an underwhelming 10-9-2 mark on the year, but there is still plenty of season left to start heading in the right direction. Most recently, it was the Coyotes that bested the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 3-1 as Arizona has found themselves in the midst of a mini two-game winning streak.

Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NHL Odds: Avalanche-Coyotes Odds

Colorado Avalanche: -1.5 (+125)

Arizona Coyotes: +1.5 (-150)

Over: 6.5 (-102)

Under: 6.5 (-120)

How to Watch Avalanche vs. Coyotes

Time: 9:00 ET/6:00 PT

TV: ESPN+

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Avalanche Will Cover The Spread/Win

Alas, the biggest reason why the Avalanche have been so unbeatable over the course of the last couple of weeks has been due to a high-octane offensive assault that is extremely challenging to slow down. With weapons at nearly every single spot on the ice, Colorado can beat you a multitude of ways. Overall, Colorado us averaging 4.6 goals per contest during their scorching hot ways and have been simply taking advantage of the opportunities that they receive.

However, if there happens to be one specific thing that the Avalanche can improve in, it is the fact that their power-play attack left much to be desired even if they handled the Lightning rather easily last time out. In that 4-1 victory, Colorado only went 1-5 on the extra-man advantage and are generally a fairly rock-solid crew in this facet of the game. In order to put the Coyotes out of their misery, don't be surprised if a main priority for Colorado in this one is to force Arizona to commit a slew of penalties in an attempt to right their wrongs from the other night.

Above all else, Colorado is finally starting to find themselves on the defensive end of the ice as well. Indeed, the Avs have been known for their offense, but Colorado is starting to click on all cylinders with goalie Alexandar Georgiev in between the pipes. When taking a look at the bigger picture, it has been Georgiev who has stood on his head in net on the way to a league-best 13-5 record while putting together a 2.84 GAA. In general, the Avalanche have won six of their last seven meetings when Georgiev gets the start.

Why The Coyotes Will Cover The Spread/Win

Although this Coyotes team may be slightly improved from last year's squad, Arizona still has a ways to go en route to becoming one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Nevertheless, this roster still happens to possess a handful of skilled snipers offensively.

Believe it or not, but Arizona has amassed 3.14 goals per game which is the 16th-best mark in all of hockey while they also boast the sixth-ranked power-play unit in the league. Simply put, this season's squad loves to take advantage of the opposition's mistakes, and if Colorado spends too much time shooting themselves in the foot more often than not, then Arizona will make them pay.

As encouraging as the offense has been flying around to the puck, the downside is that their defense gives up way too much on its own end. More specifically, the ‘Yotes are surrendering more than 32.6 shots per game which makes life difficult for any type of goaltender. Luckily, Arizona strives to kill off extra-man attacks and are receiving a splendid season thus far from Connor Ingram. Despite using a two-goalie system, Ingram is their go-to man in net as he has recorded an 8-3 record and a flashy .924 save percentage as a starter.

In addition, make sure to be on the lookout for points leader Clayton Keller who has recorded at least one point in two of his last three games.

Final Avalanche-Coyotes Prediction & Pick

Over the years, this has turned out to be a fun rivalry, but unfortunately for Arizona, it is Colorado that is playing in a whole other universe at the moment. Until they prove to be untrustworthy, continue to bet on the Avalanche to take care of business.

Final Avalanche-Coyotes Prediction & Pick: Avalanche -1.5 (+125)