The opening month of the NHL season continues to roll along. Yes, the NHL gives us another busy Thursday night complete with 12 games. Our spotlight will be on the clash between the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche. That one gets underway at approximately 9:00 pm ET. Hurricanes vs Avalanche bets grant us another opportunity to make a few more wagers.
Yes, the slate offers several exciting contests. Now, keep in mind again there will be four games on Friday. Friday includes a game between Toronto and Buffalo as the Maple Leafs are struggling some in the early going. Buffalo seems to have righted things a bit in the last week. Do note that Thursday night hockey has a 6:45 pm ET game partially due to the Hulu doubleheader.
The 2025-2026 NHL season keeps producing so many unexpected results. Chicago has a potential early Vezina Award candidate in Spencer Knight. Montreal and New Jersey have six wins already. The New York Rangers have not won a home game so far. Also, do remember that the 16 game Tuesday is coming up next week. Staggered starts will begin at 6:00 pm ET. 7 1/2 hours of wall-to-wall hockey. Sign me up!
Vegas Betting has all the best Las Vegas Stanley Cup odds for 2025-26. Now, let us begin with the moneyline for this tilt at the Ball Arena. As Fall slowly shuffles in, let’s do that hockey!. Anyway, the time to dive into the picks is now.
Hurricanes vs Avalanche bets have a competitive moneyline. Rod Brind’amour and Jared Bednar understand how important it is to get off to a good start. Injuries have already altered some plans for both teams. Goaltending was impacted first as Pyotr Kochetkov and Mackenzie Blackwood have both missed time. Blackwood is still several days away at least from making his season debut.
Carolina is 5-1 to start the 2025-26 NHL season while Colorado is 5-0-2. The Hurricanes have Brandon Bussi who has won both of his starts while performing better than Frederik Andersen. Andersen makes saves when he has to. Against Vegas, the Golden Knights forced the Hurricanes to play back on their heels a little and it showed.
The big concern for the Carolina Hurricanes here is stopping the top Colorado line and their power play. Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas have produced at an MVP level early in the season. Add in the run that Scott Wedgewood is having and one can see why the Avalanche are so tough to play against.
The Avalanche score goals at a high clip (third in the NHL in scoring with 24 goals). What surprises most experts in the early going is Colorado has given up among the fewest goals in the league at 14. At some point, the Avalanche will regress some but Carolina is not going to have an easy time containing that team speed. Colorado has the slight edge in goaltending as well.
The Hurricanes and Avalanche pile on some props are next. Both teams love to forecheck aggressively. Colorado does this to the point of sacrificing their defense. However, those mistakes have been minimal this year. The Avalanche has yielded 1.28 shots below the league average. That surprises some people. Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog are big reasons for that.
On paper, this game is the game of the night and maybe week. Carolina is loaded with offensive weapons as well. Seth Jarvis leads the team with nine points. Sebastian Aho has eight points and Shayne Gostisbehere shocks the world with seven points and is a +9.
Hurricanes vs Avalanche bets ponder several props and ideas. Among the game props, how do the goals pander out? Colorado loves playing at the Ball Arena. Colorado over 3.5 goals is quite a risk but this team can score 4+ goals (+180) with the best of them. Another reason why is the power play. At some point, this breaks out. There is no way Colorado continues at a 3-for-26 (11.54%) clip.
Yes, the goalie shutout is not happening here. Both teams are going to score. It is a question of how many. Nathan MacKinnon leads the team with six goals and Martin Necas leads in points with 11. Power play goals scored is in play too. Carolina to score one is +105. Colorado is only at -110 at home. Look to the MacKinnon anytime goal and power play points here. In the meantime, the Avalanche to win by 1 is at +235. It’s worth a look.
So, more bets skating in should not be a surprise. While the correct score screams 4-3 or 3-2, the game may not quite play out to script. Colorado got outpaced a bit by a dangerous Utah team that has found itself after an early season slump. Carolina keeps riding their top line but with Shayne Gostisbehere out, the power play has suffered the past couple of games especially. It looks like it barely exists.
The defense for Carolina is not quite as stout as in years’ past. Jaccob Slavin is also out which does not help matters. Both Slavin and Gostisbehere are out for the road trip. Frederik Andersen has been flirting with disaster (1 quality start in four games). Colorado to win the race to three goals and win in regulation are both at +110. The first one is surprising. The second is not.
NHL online Vegas odds are always on the menu. Remember the Las Vegas betting site bonuses too to help one cash in. Good luck tonight!
Chris Wassel is someone who has covered a little bit of everything: business, writing, sports, food, grilling, the Olympics, injuries, politics, and more. He has climbed mountains like Mount Washington and Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs, California, and for those who don’t know, he is also big into food challenges. With friends like Joey Chestnut and Casey Webb, Chris has tackled eating feats like finishing a 16-pound turkey or a 32-inch meat lover's pizza. Since 2013, he has focused on fitness, fishing, and sports while managing to fit in running, hiking, rock climbing, and even the occasional mini-triathlon. He can lift more than his body weight with ease and is the person you turn to when you want to know if a NASCAR rain delay means a Monday race. Over his career, Chris has worked at places like Amazon, USA Today, and various rumors and fantasy sports sites. He has been nominated for awards such as the Fantasy Sports Writers Association's Hockey Writer of the Year and has a collection of high-stakes fantasy trophies and rings on display at home. With all this, Chris sums it up best with his motto: "Shut up and play."