The last time Patrick Roy was in net for the Avalanche, he lost to the Wild in game 7 of a post-season series in overtime back in 2003. Now, Roy returns to the playoffs as the head coach of the Avalanche and their opening opponent is Minnesota. Will this series play out the same way as the one in 2003 did? Only time will tell, but we like Roy’s Avalanche in the opening game on Thursday night.
Avalanche staying even-keeled for playoffs
Roy has preached the same thing to his team from day one: remain even-keeled. That same message will be discussed prior to game one in the Avalanche locker room Thursday night by Roy. The Avs do not have a ton of playoff experience, but no one seems to be worried about that right now. One of the best ways to gain that is experience is by winning in the post-season. Colorado is up to the task of taking down the Wild.
Wild prepared for struggles of playoffs after long season
Minnesota did not open its season strong this year, but played well enough down the stretch to secure a playoff berth and an opening-round series with the Avs. One thing that helped the Wild get to where they are now is the trade for goalie Ilya Bryzgalov from Edmonton. He put up a 7-1-3 record for the Wild down the stretch. He has struggled in the post-season in his career though, going 17-19 with 104 goals allowed for Phoenix and Philadelphia. He recorded three shutouts with Anaheim in the 2005-06 playoffs.
We find the betting odds for tonight’s game one between the Wild and the Avalanche over at SportsBetting.ag, where the Avs are home chalk. We like the spread for this game, but will drop 15 percent of our bankroll on the Avalanche and the -134 money line as they secure a game one victory.
Chris Wassel
AA, AAS
CURRENTLY
Sports Writer and Journalist
RESIDES IN
Rahway, NJ
EDUCATION
Union County College, Montclair State University
EXPERTISE
Business, Writing, Sports, Food, Grilling, Olympics, Injuries, Politics, and more
Summary
Member of FSWA, FSGA, and a variety of Sports Betting Groups.
Lead arranger of news and injury reports for Rotoballer Hockey. Also did the news lead for NASCAR on the same site coming out of COVID.
Strategy and mapping out of various sports betting and sports articles for MyNHLTradeRumors and gambling.com.
Runs a hockey and fantasy hockey podcast that teaches fantasy hockey players how to improve their skills.
Experience
Chris Wassel has 20+ years of sports journalistic experience in various disciplines..
His ability to play sports is well documented. Most people in the business just write. However, Chris will race cars and even a super Moto bike from time to time. There is that fitness and hiking/cycling aspect too.
Chris has climbed mountains from Mount Washington to Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs, California. For those that do not know. Chris also dabbles in food eating contests and challenges. Having a unique background with friends including Joey Chestnut and Casey Webb, Chris has the ability to eat a whole 16-pound turkey or a 32 inch meat lover's pizza.
Since 2013, Chris has primarily focused on sports writing and fitness. On social media, he will answer any question in many different aspects. Even Chris's ability to wager on Entertainment and US Elections is well documented. He was able to predict Joe Biden's inevitable dip in approval rating below 40%.
Throughout his career, Chris has worked at a lot of places from DraftKings to USA Today and much more.
Finally, Chris has been nominated for quite a few awards from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association for Hockey Writer Of The Year. Also, there have been a number of amazing fantasy hockey championships from expert to high-stake leagues.
Education
Chris received an Associates from Union Country College for business and accounting. Chris did sports journalism work at Montclair State University covering the hockey, baseball, and football teams.
Quote from Chris Wassel
"Do Not Think, Just Do.”
Education
1999 Graduate of Union County College
1993 Graduate of Rahway High School
Professional Achievements
Media credentialed member of the New Jersey Devils since 2010
Covered several NHL Drafts including the one day event in Newark in 2013
Been on countless podcasts, TV shows, and more including Sportsnet and even NHL Network