How the public is betting Avalanche vs. Coyotes first round playoff series

Game 5 update: The Avalanche won 7-1 on two goals apiece from Nathan McKinnon and Nazem Kadri and clinched the series.

Game 4 update: The Avalanche won 7-1 on two goals from Nazem Kadri and five other players finding the net.

Game 3 update: The Coyotes won 4-2 behind 49 saves by goalie Darcy Kuemper.

Game 2 update: The Avalanche won 3-2 on a third period goal by Andre Burakovsky.

Game 1 update: The Avalanche won 3-0 on three goals in the third period.

The Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes open their first round series on Tuesday as the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway. The series takes place in the Edmonton hub city, with the Avalanche getting to wear their home jerseys for four of the seven games.

The Avalanche are the No. 2 seed after winning two of their three round robin games. The Coyotes were the 11th seed in the qualifying round and upset the Nashville Predators in four games. Colorado enters the series as a -286 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook against the +235 Coyotes. The betting public is backing the Avalanche in a big way, with 92 percent of the handle and 89 percent of total bets. It’s worth noting DK has launched in Colorado, so that likely has a disproportionate impact on the splits.

Game 1 of the series gets going at 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and the public thinks the Avalanche will get off to a strong start. Colorado is -180 on the money line and is getting 93 percent of handle and 87 percent of bets. The Avs are -1.5 on the puck line and are getting 91 percent of handle and 88 percent of bets to cover that line. Bettors think this will be a lower-scoring matchup, with under the 5.5 goal total getting 67 percent of the handle and 59 percent of total bets.

Avs head coach Jared Bednar did not announce his Game 1 goalie. Philipp Grubauer got two games in during round robin play. He gave up 2.45 goals per game on a .914 save percentage, but did give up four to the Vegas Golden Knights in the round robin finale. Pavel Francouz is the team’s No. 2 goalie.

Here is the Avalanche-Coyotes series schedule. The Avalanche win the series 4-1.

Game 1: Avalanche 3, Coyotes 0
Game 2: Avalanche 3, Coyotes 2
Game 3: Coyotes 4, Avalanche 2
Game 4: Avalanche 7, Coyotes 1
Game 5: Avalanche 7, Coyotes 1