The St. Louis Blues (26-9-6) and Colorado Avalanche (23-13-4) do battle at Pepsi Center 9:30 p.m. ET Thursday. We analyze the Rangers-Oilers sports betting odds and lines, with NHL matchup analysis, picks and tips.

Blues at Avalanche: Projected starting goalies

Jordan Binnington vs. Philipp Grubauer

Binnington has a sparkling 19-6-4 record with a 2.39 goals-against average and .921 save percentage with one shutout this season. He rolls in on a six-start winning streak, including a 5-2 win over the Avalanche in St. Louis back on Dec. 16.

Grubauer has managed a 10-9-3 record with a 2.91 GAA and .911 save percentage, and he enters on a personal 0-4-1 skid. He was on the losing side of that Dec. 16 meeting on the banks of the Mississippi River.

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Blues at Avalanche: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Blues 4, Avalanche 3

Moneyline (ML)

The BLUES ( +110) are slight favorites, as they look to bounce back from a road loss in Arizona to close out the 2019 calendar year. They’re 16-5 in their past 21 inside the Central Division, and they hold an eight-point division lead over the second-place Avalanche (-134).

While Colorado is favored, it’s just 2-6 in its past eight home games against St. Louis, and 8-23 in the past 31 meetings overall in this series.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The puck line is risky business in this battle between the top two teams in the Central. While I expect the Blues to come out of it with a win, I’d recommend just taking them straight up rather than grab inside at (+1.5, -239). That’s too much chalk to eat.

Over/Under (O/U)

The OVER 5.5 ( -134) has cashed in four of the past five games overall for Colorado, and six of its past eight inside the Central. While Arizona’s failure last time out was the loss for bettors that night, it might be the gain of Over bettors in this one. The Over is 5-0 in the past five for the Blues when scoring two or fewer goals in their previous outing.

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