Free NHL Picks Today: Colorado Avalanche vs Detroit Red Wings 1/16/23

The Colorado Avalanche (21-17-3) welcome the Detroit Red Wings (18-16-7) at Ball Arena on Monday. Detroit is coming off a 4-3 loss against the Blue Jackets on Saturday. The Red Wings committed only one penalty in the game, holding Columbus without a power play goal.

Lucas Raymond, Jake Walman, and Olli Maatta each scored once for the Red Wings. Ville Husso only had 21 saves on 25 shots against (.840%) in the loss.

Colorado beat the Senators 7-0 on Saturday. Artturi Lehkonen, Alex Newhook, and Mikko Rantanen scored twice each for the Avalanche. Pavel Francouz had a dominant performance with 29 saves to record his zeroth shutout of the season.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Avalanche won both games between the teams last season, including a 5-2 victory in their final meeting in February, their eighth straight win against Detroit. Four players had two points for Colorado. Moritz Seider and Dylan Larkin each had two points (0G 2A) to lead Detroit. Francouz got the win, saving 32 of 34 shots (.941%).

FACING OFF

Detroit is averaging 3.10 goals per game for the season, 20th in the NHL, and they are taking on an Avalanche team that is allowing 2.83 goals a game (12th).

Meanwhile, Colorado has found the net 2.98 times a game on average, 24th in the league, and the Red Wings are allowing opponents to score 3.34 goals per game (21st).

The Avalanche’s 23.24% power play percentage ranks 14th in the league, while the Red Wings are 21st with a conversion rate of 20.27%. When it comes to defending power plays, Detroit has the league’s 20th-ranked PK% at 75.81%, while Colorado is 21st at 75.19%.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 38 points this season, Larkin is the top skater for the Red Wings. He has 14 goals and 24 assists in 40 games. In the net, Husso (14-8-5) is Detroit’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.95 GAA and a .904% save percentage.

Rantanen leads the Avalanche in scoring with 53 points. He has 29 goals (8th) and 24 assists in 41 games. Alexandar Georgiev (16-11-3) is the top goalie for Colorado with a goals against average of 2.75. He has a save percentage of .914%.