The Colorado Avalanche look to bounce back as they host the St. Louis Blues. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Blues-Avalanche prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Blues enter the season at 3-3-1 on the year, trading wins and losses all year long. They opened with an overtime loss, before getting their first win. Since then, they lost the Coyotes, before a win, then lost to the Jets, followed by a win. Last time out, they lost to the Canucks. The Canucks dominated the game. They scored one in the first, and then three more in the second, finally winning 5-0. The Blues failed to score on all 22 shots they took, being shut out in the game.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche are 6-2-0 on the year. The Avalanche won their first six games, but have now lost two straight games. First, it was against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They would lose that game 4-0 to break their winning streak. Then last time out they faced the Buffalo Sabres. In that game, the Avalanche were down 1-0 in the first ten minutes of the game and would be down 3-0 mid-way through the second period. The Avalanche would not score in the game, with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen saving all 23 shots in the game, and the Avalanche falling 4-0.

Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NHL Odds: Blues-Avalanche Odds

St. Louis Blues: +1.5 (-122)

Colorado Avalanche: -1.5 (+102)

Over: 6.5 (-105)

Under: 6.5 (-115)

How to Watch Blues vs. Avalanche

Time: 9:30 PM ET/ 6:30 PM PT

TV: TNT

Stream: FuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Blues Will Cover The Spread

The top line for the Blue is Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Kasperi Kapenen. Still, the top line has struggled to score this year. Buchnevich has just one goal and one assist this year, with the one goal coming on the power play. Thomas leads the team in points but also has just one goal this year, but he does have four assists. Meanwhile, Kapanaen has a goal and two assists this year.

This year, only one player has more than one goal. That is Brandon Saad, who has two this year. Still, he does not have an assist this year, so he has just two points on the year. Beyond the top line, Jakub Vrana, Oskar Sundqvist, and Jordan Kyrou are all tied for second on the team, with Kapanen, for second on the team in points. All three of them have one goal and two assists on the season, for three points. Still just one of the points has come on the power play. that is an asset by Kyrou on the power play.

The power play has been a major issue for the Blues this year. They have just one goal on the power play this year and have converted just 4.8 percent of their chances. Not only is it last in the league, but the 31st in the league is sitting at 9.1 percent.

Jordan Binngington is expected to start in the goal tonight for the Blues in this one. He is 2-2-1 on the year with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage. In the last two games, he has struggled though. While Binnington has allowed just four goals in the first three games, he has now allowed eight goals in the last two games, with a save percentage under .910 in each of those two games.

Why The Avalanche Will Cover The Spread

Colorado has been led by Mikko Rantanen this year. Rantanen has five goals, which leads the team, and seven assists, which leads the team. Overall, he has 12 points this year, with a goal and three assists this season. He is helped out by Cale Makar, the defenseman for the Avalanche. He has three goals and six assists this year, with nine points. Makar has a goal and three assists in the power play this year while having a plus-five rating this year.

Rantanen is joined on the top line by Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen this year. MacKinnon has four goals this year, with three assists. The biggest issue for MacKinnon is the fact that he has spent 20 minutes in the penalty box this year. Meanwhile, Lehkonen has two goals this year with four assists. He has six points this year but has a -3 rating overall. He does have a power play goal and three assists this year.

Still, the Avalanche this year are 15th on the power play. They have six power-play goals this year, with an 18.8 percent conversion rate. Meanwhile, they are one of the best on the penalty kill this year. They have a 93.8 percent kill rate, which ranks them third in the NHL.

Ivan Prosvetov is going to make his first start of the year for the Avalanche today. He has played in one game this year, appearing for eight minutes and five seconds in the game with the Penguins. In that game, he saved all five shots he faced. For his career, Ivan Prosvetov has appeared in 14 games over four seasons with 11 starts. In that time, he has a .873 save percentage and a 4.03 goals-against average. This is his first true chance to be a primary backup in the NHL, and Prosvetov will be looking to make an impact in this game

Final Blues-Avalanche Prediction & Pick

The Avalanche walk into this game winning six of their eight games, but have lost their last two games. they have been much better at home though. They have played just two games at home, winning both of them by a combined score of 10-4. The Avalanche have had to be road warriors this year, while the Blue has not been great on the road. They are 1-2-1 on the road this year while scoring just six goals on the road this year. The Blues will not be scoring on the power play this game. they are the worst in the NHL on the power play, and Colorado is one of the best against the power play. Colorado is the better team here, but with a goaltender making his first career start, the best move is taking the extra goals. Take the Blues to cover here.

Final Blues-Avalanche Prediction & Pick: St. Louis Blues +1.5 (-122)