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.
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.
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.
