The Western Conference playoffs trudge on as the Colorado Avalanche will look to even up the series against the Winnipeg Jets.  Join us for our NHL odds series, where our Avalanche-Jets prediction and pick will be made.

One of the more anticipated first-round series in the NHL playoff picture, one look at the stats in game one would point to Colorado dominating the contest across the board. Despite falling short by a score of 7-6 in the opening game of the postseason, there's no doubt that Colorado will be putting their best foot forward to tie this series up before heading back home to the Mile High City.

Playing in front of a raucous crowd that surely loves their hockey team, it is clear that the city of Winnipeg is fired up for this series. After it was the home fans that gave the Jets enough energy to prevail in the gritty one-goal triumph, they will once again be needed to slow down the high-flying Avalanche. Including the Game One victory, it is Winnipeg that has yet to lose to Colorado this year as they also swept the Avalanche in the three meetings during the regular season. Will the Jets make it a perfect 5-0 by this contest's ultimate conclusion?

Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NHL Playoffs Odds: Avalanche-Jets Game 2 Odds

Colorado Avalanche: +1.5 (-265)

Moneyline: -110

Winnipeg Jets: -1.5 (+215)

Moneyline: -110

Over: 6.5 (+104)

Under: 6.5 (-128)

How to Watch Avalanche vs. Jets Game 2

Time: 9:40 ET/6:40 PT

TV: ESPN

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Avalanche Will Cover The Spread/Win

Unfortunately, it appears that the Stanley Cup Champions from two years ago have a serious issue in net. Having been Colorado's starter in the crease for the better part of the last two seasons, it has become obvious that goalie Alexandar Georgiev has a serious case of the “Yips”. Although never considered as one of the top goaltenders in the league, the 28-year-old has often shown that he can be a stellar option when patrolling the net. Nevertheless, Georgiev's recent poor stretch has made him nearly unplayable at this point in time. Don't be surprised if Colorado turns to backups Justus Annunen or Ivan Prosvetov to try and snag home-ice back in their favor. During Game One, it was Georgiev who surrendered a whopping seven goals in only 23 shots faced.

To put it frank, it was an extremely frustrating evening for Colorado as the Avalanche did end up out-shooting Winnipeg two times by a tally of 46-23. In addition, Colorado was also the more physical team by out-hitting Winnipeg 55-46. Bafflingly enough, Colorado won every aspect of the contest minus a shaky defensive effort and some porous goaltending.

Altogether, if there was one silver lining in the opening series loss, it was the fact that the Colorado offensive assault did not seem overly concerned in facing off with William M. Jennings Award winner Connor Hellebuyck. In fact, they made Hellebuyck look silly en route to an offensive explosion. At the end of the day, if Colorado can be that effective on the offensive end of the ice while bringing a surplus of energy, then they'll be right barring another nightmarish performance by whoever is in net.

Why The Jets Will Cover The Spread/Win

One could make the argument that the Jets were indeed outplayed over the weekend, but Winnipeg will be the first to tell you that they do not care. No matter what, a win is a win, and Winnipeg will have an incredible opportunity to put a stronghold on this series if they can string together another victory.

For starters, it all begins with a bounce-back performance from Mr. Hellebuyck. Believe it or not, the Winnipeg net-minder had not given up that many goals all season long which was a shocking revelation within itself. Most likely, Hellebuyck won't play that poorly again, and history would suggest that. Specifically speaking, the goaltender that boasted the second-best save percentage at .921 in the regular season also gave up only four goals combined versus the Avalanche. Don't expect one of the top goalies in the game to have back-to-back poor performances in net.

Secondly, a more relentless outing on offense will be needed. Of course, Winnipeg did execute to perfection in taking advantage of some spotty play defensively by Colorado, but finding a way to account for more shots on goal will be a must in order to keep up with the high-octane scoring prowess of the Avalanche. It will be important to keep tabs on guys like Sean Monahan and Josh Morrissey to continue their hot streaks as the duo combined for a total of six points en route to paving the way offensively.

Final Avalanche-Jets Prediction & Pick

Ultimately, this game simply may come down to whoever Colorado puts in between the pipes. With how well they played in other areas, there is no doubt that the Avs can hang with the Jets, but they may be doomed if they cannot get receive at minimum average goalie play. Nonetheless, taking Colorado to cover seems like the right pick here.

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Final Avalanche-Jets Prediction & Pick: Avalanche +1.5 (-265)