Blues, Avalanche Are Basically Tied in Central Division Standings and Title Odds

• The St Louis Blues currently lead the NHL’s Central Division by two points
• Colorado has been hot on their heels all season and has a game in hand
• Based on the odds, who’s the best bet to win the Central Division?

While the St Louis Blues have controlled the Central Division for most of the season, their lead hasn’t always been a comfortable one.

Now, it’s just down to two points over the Colorado Avalanche.

Both have won 41 games this year and both sit top-five in goal differential. If it wasn’t for two Blues OT losses, they’d be tied right now.

So with two of the NHL’s best fighting it out for division supremacy, who’s the best bet to take the Central Division?

2019/20 Central Division Odds

Odds and standings taken Mar 10th.

As you can tell, it’s become a two-horse race for the Central. It’d take two massive slumps and a big push from Dallas or Winnipeg to unearth any other value.

But, when you look at how the season has played out for the 2020 Central Division odds, it’s not really a surprise.

The Avs were actually favorites until mid-November. That’s when the Blues took over. Since then, their averages have played out like mirror images of each other.

Could Central Division Come Down to the Wire?

Our first inclination to figure out who’s going to come out on top, is to look at the head-to-heads.

Unfortunately, that isn’t much help, because these two wrap up their schedules on April 4, facing off against one another.

Avalanche vs Blues in 2019/20

Even head-to-head, these teams are evenly matched. And while St Louis took the first two and Colorado the next two, it will have been almost three months since they last played when the season finale rolls around.

Strength of Avs, Blues’ Remaining Schedule

When we last looked in on these two, they had the two easiest remaining schedules in the league.

Now that some of the softballs are out of the way, the pendulum has swung back in the Blues’ favor.

FINAL: #FlaPanthers 2, #Blues 1

The Panthers are now just 1 point out of a playoff spot.

The Blues lose just their 7th game at home in regulation.

MASSIVE win. pic.twitter.com/o5gNxcNogw

— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) March 10, 2020

Entering Monday night, St. Louis had the eighth-easiest remaining schedule. Their opponents owned a .542 winning percentage. After dropping Monday’s game against Florida, six of their last 12 are at home.

Colorado’s opponents had a .550 winning percentage, with the LA Kings undoubtedly dragging that down. LA’s shocking road win over the Avs however, leaves Colorado with 13 games left, and eight of them at home.

Anyone else nervous watching this Avs and Kings game 😬 #stlblues pic.twitter.com/8cV8Pg3Bxq

— Gibbs A Proud St. Louis Blues fan🇨🇦 (@ash_gibbsblues) March 10, 2020

While the result wasn’t what they wanted, the Avs were left holding their breath for a different reason.

How Long Will Avalanche be Missing Nathan MacKinnon?

Even before the loss to the Kings on Monday, the list of injuries the Avalanche had to overcome was ridiculously long.

Now you could be adding a top five player to it.

Avs current injuries:

Nathan MacKinnon
Mikko Rantanen
Nazem Kadri
Cale Makar
Matt Calvert
Andre Burakovsky
Colin Wilson
Philipp Grubauer

Getting a little ridiculous…

— Dude Where's Makar (@joelthesakic) March 10, 2020

Immediately after the game, head coach Jared Bednar didn’t know the extent of MacKinnon’s injury. Which isn’t a good sign. That means they’re at least going to take a second look at it.

It’s disappointing for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that MacKinnon is likely to top 100 points for the first time, and 40 goals for the second.

Mounting Injuries Too Much in Central Division Chase

Without knowing anything about MacKinnon’s injury and whether or not it will linger, backing the Blues is the safest play.

MacKinnon’s game is so predicated on speed, that it’s tough to know how even a small lower-body injury will effect him when his team needs him the most.

The Blues lost their own super star earlier in the year when Vladimir Tarasenko went down. And despite everything, they’ve survived atop the Central. Expect them to close out the year on top.