Two of the best teams in the NHL will face off against each other on Thursday evening when the Colorado Avalanche travel to Boston, Massachusetts to face the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden.

The Colorado Avalanche are in 2^nd place in the Central Division with a record of 29-13-3 and 61 points which also gives them the 3^rd best record in the Western Conference and ties them with the Boston Bruins for the 3^rd best record in the NHL. Colorado has won four of their previous five matchups including a 7-4 win on the road against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. The Avalanche are one of the highest-scoring teams in the league as they are averaging the 2^nd most goals per game and have the 8^th-best power-play success rate at 25%. 

Defensively the Avalanche have been a middle-of-the-pack team as they rank 16^th in goals allowed per game with an average of 3.11 goals allowed per game and have the 10^th-best penalty-kill percentage in the NHL with an 81.88% penalty-kill percentage. Nathan MacKinnon has been one of the best players in the NHL and leads the league in assists and is tied for the league lead in points with 49 assists and 72 points. The Colorado Avalanche will look for their 5^th win in their last six games when they travel to face the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins enter this game with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 26-8-9 and 61 points and are on a two-game winning streak following a 3-0 shutout win at home against the New Jersey Devils on Monday. Boston is allowing the 5^th fewest goals per game and has the 5^th best penalty-kill percentage with an average of 2.65 goals allowed per game and an 84.38% penalty-kill percentage. 

Offensively, the Bruins are also a top 10 team as they rank 10^th in goals per game and have the 5^th best power-play success rate with an average of 3.35 goals per game and a 27.07 power-play success rate. Linus Ullmark has been one of the best starting goalies in the league with a record of 13-5-2 and a .915 save percentage while allowing an average of 2.75 goals per game. The Boston Bruins will look to extend their winning streak to three games when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday evening.

BookMaker has the Boston Bruins listed as -140 moneyline favorites at home against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday evening. Colorado is 6-3-1 in the last ten while Boston is 2-0-1 in the last three meetings. The teams have averaged 3.1 goals per game apiece over the last ten matchups while the Bruins have won by an average margin of 2.33 goals per game over the last three games in the series.

The teams enter this matchup with 61 points and are tied for the 3^rd best record in the NHL, however, Boston has been the better team most recently in the series going 2-0-1 in the last three meetings. The Bruins have won by an average margin of 2.33 goals per game over the last three games in the series which is why I am taking the moneyline for the Boston Bruins at -140 when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday evening.