St. Louis opened with a 4-0 win at Dallas, but keeping Colorado quiet looks like a different assignment. The Avalanche scored eight goals in their opener, and our shot projections put them at roughly 34 against the Blues’ 24. That makes Jordan Binnington’s workload central to this matchup: can St. Louis limit Colorado’s pressure while creating enough chances of its own?
Colorado has the stronger profile—and a demanding price
Colorado’s moneyline price of -285 at DraftKings sets a demanding bar. Our grades give the Avalanche an A+ for their attack and an A for their defensive unit, compared with a D and C+, respectively, for the Blues. That’s a clear matchup advantage, but the expensive price leaves less room for things to go wrong.
Nathan MacKinnon centers a line with Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas, while Cale Makar and Devon Toews give Colorado another prominent pair on the blue line. For St. Louis, Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud lead the forward group. With fewer Blues shots in our projections, making those opportunities count against Mackenzie Blackwood becomes especially important.
A strong opener meets a quick turnaround
The Blues’ 4-0 win at Dallas on Friday leads straight into Saturday’s game at Ball Arena, completing a road back-to-back. Colorado has had a longer break after beating Los Angeles 8-4 on Wednesday. That four-goal concession gives St. Louis a reason to look beyond the Avalanche’s impressive scoring output.
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Both teams are 1-0, so neither opener establishes a reliable pattern yet. The more useful distinction is the workload we anticipate for Binnington. If the Blues can’t narrow the shot gap, they’ll need him to handle the extra work while Thomas’ line makes the most of its chances at the other end.
What matters most
Colorado’s stronger grades, projected shot advantage and longer break make a persuasive matchup case. St. Louis’ opening shutout is the counterweight, though Colorado presents a tougher test on consecutive nights. The deciding question is how much pressure the Blues can take off Binnington: reducing that workload would give their own attack more room to matter. At this price, Colorado’s ability to sustain its advantage matters more than simply looking stronger on paper.
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