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Avalanche vs. Maple Leafs Odds, Picks, Predictions: Colorado a Tough Test for Toronto

Scott Cullen

Last Updated: March 15, 2023 10:10 AM EDT • 2 min 37 sec read.

The Colorado Avalanche are heating up as they head into Toronto to face the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Here's sports betting analyst Scott Cullen's top NHL pick based on the best NHL odds.

After a slow start to the year, the Avalanche are ramping up to defend their Stanley Cup title.

With a 17-5-3 record and +29 goal differential over the past two months, including an 8-4 win at Montreal on Monday, the Avalanche are playing much more like a legitimate contender. They sit in third place in the Central Division with 80 points in 65 games, one point clear of the Winnipeg Jets but with three games in hand. 

Toronto is in second place in the Atlantic Division with 88 points in 66 games, and already appears to be locked in for a first-round playoff matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Maple Leafs are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.

Here is our best Avalanche vs. Maple Leafs NHL pick (odds via PointsBet; pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Avalanche vs. Maple Leafs pick

Avalanche ML (+120 via PointsBet) ⭐⭐⭐

The Avalanche and Maple Leafs are both among the top championship contenders by the latest consensus Stanley Cup odds going into Wednesday's matchup in Toronto. 

For the Avalanche, those odds are based on the potential we know rather than their total body of work this season. With injuries overwhelming the lineup at times, the Avs have struggled to find their footing, but they have been getting more lineup stability lately and the positive results have followed.

Colorado did lose winger Artturi Lehkonen to a broken finger in Monday's 8-4 win at Montreal, so that is one more hurdle to overcome, but with the rest of their stars back in place, Colorado can still be a dominant team.

Colorado's power play has been sizzling, scoring 11 goals over the past 15 games. The elite skill offered by Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar makes the Avalanche power play a serious threat when healthy. 

With a 17-10-2 record in 2023, the Maple Leafs deliver better than average results. While that has been good enough to hold second place in the division, it has not been impressive enough to feel like they are a strong play as favorites against Colorado.

This is a quality matchup between two top teams, but I have the Avalanche as slight favorites, so they have more relative value as the underdog at plus money.

Check out our latest Norris Trophy odds.

Avalanche vs. Maple Leafs best odds

PointsBet (+120) 

DraftKingsFanDuelBetMGMCaesarsPointsBet
Avalanche MLAvalanche MLAvalanche MLAvalanche MLAvalanche ML
+115+118+115+118+120

PointsBet offers the best price for the Avalanche moneyline, with the rest of our best sportsbooks not too far behind in the range of +115 to +118.

Check out our Rocket Richard Trophy odds and Hart Trophy odds.

Avalanche vs. Maple Leafs odds

Check out our Calder Trophy odds.

Avalanche vs. Maple Leafs odds analysis

FanDuel opened with the Maple Leafs favored at -150, compared to the Avalanche at +125. 

With 57% of the consensus moneyline wagers on the Avalanche, the line has moved. The Maple Leafs are now -142, with the Avalanche at +118.

The total opened at 6.5, with odds at -115 for the Over and -105 for the Under.  With 66% of consensus wagers on the Over, the odds have still seen small movement in the other direction. The price is now -112 for the Over and -108 for the Under. 

Avalanche vs. Maple Leafs game info

  • Date: Wednesday, March 15, 7 p.m. ET
  • TV: TNT, Sportsnet, TVAS
  • Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON

Avalanche-Maple Leafs pick made 3/15/2023 at 11:30 a.m. ET.

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Written By:
Scott Cullen
Scott Cullen is SportsbookReview.com's Sports Betting Analyst and is one of the most well-known sports betting writers on the web. He wrote about fantasy sports for TSN for many years, and he has also written for The Athletic, NHL.com, The Hockey News, Monkey Knife Fight, and McKeen's Hockey. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Cullen was an Economics major at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario and played for the Laurier Golden Hawks hockey team.