Betting

Morning Coffee: Will Avalanche bounce back after first loss of Stanley Cup Playoffs?

By
Domenic Padula

Published: 

It turns out it’s not always sunny in Philadelphia.

As if the rain and overcast skies weren’t bad enough, Philly sports fans also had to deal with their beloved Flyers and 76ers both getting swept in the same week.

Less than 24 hours after the Carolina Hurricanes knocked out the Flyers with an overtime win in their own building, 76ers fans were forced to sit through a 30-point loss to the New York Knicks in the finale of a four-game sweep.

Meanwhile, the sun is out in Montreal this morning as Habs fans enjoy their coffee while they bask in the glow of a decisive 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 3 of their second round series on Sunday night.

The Bell Centre was absolutely buzzing as the Canadiens took a 2-1 series lead.

Montreal is 40-11 all-time when leading a best-of-seven series 2-1.

On the heels of their most dominant performance of these Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Habs are -130 to win Game 4 on home ice and -260 to advance at FanDuel.

Only two teams – the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche - have shorter odds to win the Stanley Cup than Montreal.

The Hurricanes will get some well-deserved time off after they became the first team since 1985 to win eight games in a row to begin the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Meanwhile, out west, the Avalanche will attempt to bounce back from their first loss of the postseason in Game 4 against the Minnesota Wild tonight.

Colorado is a heavy favourite to win Game 4 at -140.

Will the Avalanche push the Wild to the brink in their own building?

Or will Quinn Hughes and company send the series back to Colorado tied 2-2?

Let’s set the stage and lock in a FanDuel Best Bet for Game 4 in this Morning Coffee column for Monday May 11th, 2026.

Will Avalanche Bounce Back After First Loss Of Stanley Cup Playoffs?

The Presidents Trophy has been awarded 39 times.

Only eight of the previous 38 teams that won that award for finishing with the most points in the regular season have gone on to win the Stanley Cup.

The Avalanche are looking to join that list.

After steamrolling the Los Angeles Kings in a four-game series sweep in the opening round, Colorado scored 16 goals in back-to-back wins over the Wild on home ice to begin their second round series.

Then something strange happened in Game 3.

The Wild scored two goals less than two minutes apart in the first period and shut down the Avalanche attack in a 5-1 win on home ice to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Jesper Wallstedt made 35 saves after he sat out Game 2.

Kirill Kaprizov led the Minnesota attack with three points, Quinn Hughes registered a goal and an assist, and Matt Boldy scored his first goal of the series, albeit into an empty net.

How will Colorado respond after they looked vulnerable for the first time this postseason?

Wallstedt was excellent in Game 3, but the Wild also did a much better job limiting the number of shot-attempts off the rush that they allowed in Game 3 compared to the first two games on the road.

Minnesota also scored a pair of powerplay goals, converting on 2-of-3 opportunities after going 0-for-5 with the man-advantage in the first two games.

After these teams combined for 15 goals in Game 1, the Wild have scored three 5-on-5 goals in the previous two games combined.

With their season essentially on the line tonight, we should expect Minnesota to play a very tight-checking game and try to limit opportunities off the rush.

Whether or not they can slow down an explosive and deep Avalanche core is the big question.

In terms of a FanDuel Best Bet, I’m going to run it back with the builder Same Game Parlay that cashed for me in each of the first three games of the series.

I’ll lock in Nazem Kadri 2+ shots on goal and Ryan Hartman 2+ shots on goal as an SGP at -120 odds.

Kadri has registered 8, 4, and 3 shots on goal in the first three games of the series, clearing 2+ shots on goal in all seven games he’s played against the Wild this season dating back to his time with the Calgary Flames.

Meanwhile, Hartman has recorded 7, 5, and 3 shots on goal in the series, clearing 2+ shots on goal against the Avalanche in six of seven games dating back to the regular season.

Make sure you give me a follow @Domenic_Padula on X for all my plays for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Hopefully, Kadri and Hartman can combine to help this builder SGP improve to 4-for-4 in the series.

Have a great day, everyone!