NHL Betting: Avalanche vs Stars Game 7 Preview

The NHL playoffs are serving up an absolute thriller tonight as the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche face off in a do-or-die Game 7. The puck drops at 8 p.m. ET, with a spot in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the line.

The winner gets to take on whoever comes out on top in tomorrow’s Game 7 between the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets.

It’s been a wild series so far, with most games ending in blowouts. Only two have come down to the wire – both overtime wins for Dallas in Games 2 and 3. Every other matchup has been decided by three goals or more.

Nathan MacKinnon has been absolutely dominant for Colorado, racking up 10 points in the series. That’s second-best in the entire playoffs, with only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid putting up better numbers. MacKinnon’s also leading all players with six goals.

For Dallas, Mikko Rantanen has been their go-to guy with eight points. The former Avalanche star is showing his old team what they’re missing.

The oddsmakers are leaning Colorado’s way. The Avs are -160 favorites, while Dallas comes in as +134 underdogs – pretty surprising for a home team in Game 7.

The total is set at 5.5 goals, and SportsLine’s prediction model has some interesting takes on player performance. They’re especially confident about MacKinnon staying under 1.5 points tonight, rating it as their top bet for the game.

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This one’s shaping up to be an absolute classic. After six games of mostly lopsided affairs, we might finally get the nail-biter this series deserves.