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Analysis
Blue Jackets vs Avalanche Prediction, Picks & Odds (Nov 3, 2026)
By SportsHub Model · Edited by Kyle Parker
The 20-second version
- Pick: Avalanche moneyline at -130 (medium confidence). The model has Colorado at 70% vs about 57% implied by the price.
- Colorado leads the NHL at 4.27 goals per game; Columbus ranks 29th at 2.33.
- Colorado is on a back-to-back with Scott Wedgewood (.889) in net; Columbus has been off since Saturday.
- Only 1 of Columbus's 5 wins came in regulation, against 9 regulation wins for Colorado.
The Colorado Avalanche (9-5-1) close their road trip Tuesday at 7:00 PM ET at Nationwide Arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets (5-7-0), on Blue Jackets Hockey Network and Altitude. Colorado is -130 to -135 on the moneyline, with the total at 6.5 at most books. The catch is that the Avs played in Chicago last night and turn to their backup. Even so, the league's top offense against the 29th-ranked attack is too wide a gap to ignore. Our pick: Avalanche moneyline (-130).
How these teams got here
Colorado arrives hot. The Avs have won three straight and scored five goals in each of them: 5-2 over New Jersey, 5-2 over Calgary, and 5-2 at Chicago on Monday. Against the Blackhawks they fell behind 2-0 in the first period and answered with five unanswered goals, the last into an empty net. Nazem Kadri and Jaden Schwartz scored twice each, and Kadri's second was his 100th career power-play goal. Over 15 games Colorado has outscored opponents 64-46, and its 4.27 goals per game lead the NHL.
Columbus is going the other way. The Blue Jackets have lost two straight, 3-2 at Carolina and 3-1 at Dallas on Saturday, and they're 4-6-0 over their last 10. The bigger warning sign is how they win: just one of their five victories came in regulation. The other four needed overtime or a shootout. They've scored 2.33 goals per game (29th) and been outscored 39-29.
The schedule spot is the one thing in Columbus's favor. The Blue Jackets have been off since Saturday, while Colorado finished in Chicago late Monday. The Avs are also only 3-4-0 on the road against 6-1-1 at home, and Columbus is 4-3-0 at Nationwide Arena.
Colorado's scorers against a Columbus offense that can't keep up
This game comes down to whether Columbus can trade goals with Colorado's forwards. Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado with 25 points (9 goals, 16 assists). Artturi Lehkonen has 12 goals, tied for second in the league and first in 5-on-5 goals with nine, per the Avalanche. Martin Necas adds 18 points and Cale Makar 16 from the blue line. Colorado puts 30.6 shots per game on net, fourth in the league.
Columbus has no answer of the same size. Kent Johnson leads the club with 7 goals and 12 points, Zach Werenski has 10 assists, and Charlie Coyle has 8. The Blue Jackets average 25.6 shots per game (25th), and their power play is converting 12.9% (29th). The one area where they win is the faceoff circle: 54.9%, second in the NHL, against Colorado's 48.5%.
In net, Scott Wedgewood starts for Colorado, per Daily Faceoff, after Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves in Chicago. Wedgewood has been shaky: 1-2-1 with a 3.48 GAA and .889 save percentage in four starts. Blackwood is 8-3-0 at .899. For Columbus, Jet Greaves has started the last two games and is listed as the probable starter but not confirmed. He's 2-5-0 with a 3.11 GAA and .883. Cam Talbot (3-2-0, .894) is the alternative. Neither side has a clear edge in net tonight, so the game is decided by the skaters.
Lineup notes
Colorado is without defenseman Josh Manson, who is out about eight weeks with an ankle injury, per the Denver Post. That thins a blue line that already plays Makar and Devon Toews heavy minutes, and it matters more on the second night of a back-to-back. Forward Zachary L'Heureux remains on injured reserve.
Columbus is close to full strength. Ivan Provorov came off injured reserve on Saturday and logged 19:31 in his season debut at Dallas after missing 11 games. Dante Fabbro returned from injured reserve last week. Getting both back steadies a defense that ranks 19th in goals allowed (3.25 per game), but it doesn't fix a team scoring fewer than 2.5 goals a night.
Prediction: Avalanche moneyline (-130)
Colorado moneyline is the call. The model has the Avs at 70%, well above the 56.5%-57.4% implied by -130 to -135.
- Scoring gap: Colorado's 4.27 goals per game is first in the league, and Columbus's 2.33 is 29th.
- Form: the Avs have won three straight, scoring five each time. The Blue Jackets have dropped two straight and scored three goals in those games.
- Regulation wins: Colorado has 9, Columbus has 1. The Blue Jackets have been surviving in extra time, not controlling games.
- Special teams: Colorado's power play (20.4%) against a Columbus penalty kill at 73.0% (22nd) is a real mismatch.
- History: Colorado is 46-19-1-5 all-time against Columbus in the regular season, and MacKinnon has 26 points in 23 career games against the Blue Jackets, per the Avalanche.
The risk: this is Colorado's back-to-back with its backup in net. If Wedgewood's .889 shows up early and Columbus wins the faceoff battle, the rested home side can keep this tight. The puck line at -1.5 pays up to +190 but asks a tired team to win by two, so the moneyline is the cleaner price.
On the total: 6.5 sits between these teams' scoring profiles. Colorado games have averaged 7.3 total goals and Columbus games 5.7. There's no edge on the total.
