🏒 Wild vs. Avalanche Prediction & Odds: Game 1 NHL Picks Today (May 3)

Here's a highly anticipated matchup, with two stacked Western Conference contenders beginning a much-anticipated second-round playoff series.

My Wild vs. Avalanche Game 1 prediction offers a game pick for the series opener, alongside my best bet and favorite player prop to target. Puck drop is set for 9 p.m. ET on Sunday from Ball Arena in Denver (TNT, HBO Max), with the Avalanche priced as a -185 home betting favorite.

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🏒 Wild vs. Avalanche picks & odds today: May 3

See all of our experts' NHL picks based on the latest NHL odds.

Total wagered: 1.7 units | Max profit: 1.93 units

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🏆 Who will win Wild vs. Avalanche?

I've got the Wild stealing Game 1 on the road in Colorado 3-2 to put the Presidents' Trophy winners on notice. Minnesota faced much steeper competition in Round 1, which will help the Wild start this series strong against an Avalanche squad that didn't need to be at its best against the Kings.

Score prediction: Wild 3, Avalanche 2

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💰 Wild vs. Avalanche prediction & best bet

Wild ML (+146)

The Wild had to play elite hockey to escape Round 1 versus the Stars, and that performance shone a light on how complete this Minnesota team is this year. The stars showed up, their two elite puck-moving defensemen (Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes) controlled the pace of play, depth forwards contributed with goals, and rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt was rock solid.

Meanwhile, this is a major step up in playoff competition for the Avalanche after they were matched up with a sub-.500 Kings team. That's why I'm backing the underdog Wild to win outright at +146 odds through FanDuel.

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🔥 Best Wild vs. Avalanche player prop bet

Matt Boldy 4+ shots on goal (-114)

Matt Boldy has been the most active offensive player with the puck so far this postseason. He leads the playoffs in shots on goal and tallied at least four in every first-round game. He also averaged 5.5 shots on goal per game versus the Avalanche during the regular season.

FanDuel offers very reasonable -114 odds on Boldy to log at least four shots in Game 1. That's what I'm backing, but there's also a +192 price tag on the Wild star tallying five or more SOGs, as he's done in more than half of his playoff games this spring. I might target that later in the series, but I'll stick with 4+ for the series opener.

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🚀 Wild vs. Avalanche same-game parlay

A major reason the Wild outlasted the Stars was the play of Boldy. Minnesota needs the shoot-first winger to be aggressive in this series, and I expect an active Boldy from the jump to kick off this matchup with a Wild road victory. My two-leg parlay on Wild ML and Boldy's shot prop carries +362 odds at FanDuel.

💵 Wild vs. Avalanche SGP picks

• Wild ML (+146)
• Matt Boldy 4+ shots on goal (-114)

Best odds: +362 via FanDuel (0.2u -> 0.72u)

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💵 My betting record for NHL picks

All NHL picks, including SGPs, have been tracked since April 16.

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💡 How I'm betting Wild vs. Avalanche

Follow all of our NHL analysis and expert predictions this season.

I'm laying off slightly here, with this being Game 1 of a new playoff series. We'll get a much better sense of this matchup after this contest than we can from the team's regular-season meetings. Bankroll management is crucial in sports betting, so be smart with yours.

I've had success betting game totals during the playoffs, but this is a difficult one to figure out, with one of the top Over teams (Wild) taking on the top Under squad (Avalanche). That's why my best bet is on the winner instead, with the Wild moneyline receiving my largest wager of Game 1 at 0.7 units. 

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📊 Live Wild vs. Avalanche odds: Game 1

The Avalanche are at least a -180 moneyline favorite across the best sports betting sites, alongside a 5.5 to 6 total that favors the Over. I don't expect either number to change significantly, though Colorado could become a slightly larger favorite following the latest Wild injury news (Jonas Brodin out, and Joel Eriksson Ek is questionable). However, that doesn't dissuade me from my Wild moneyline pick.

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📈 Wild vs. Avalanche betting trends

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🚑 Wild vs. Avalanche injuries

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📺 How to watch Wild vs. Avalanche Game 1

• Date: Sunday, May 3
• Puck drop: 9 p.m. ET
• Location: Ball Arena (Denver)
• TV: TNT
• Streaming: HBO Max