- Nathan MacKinnon, who led the NHL with 53 goals last season, is +115 to score against the Kings.
- Cale Makar’s over 2.5 shots at -115 needs 53.5% and cleared in only 32 of 75 games last season.
- Colorado is -198 on the moneyline and +133 on the puck line, with the total at 6 goals.
- The Avalanche swept the Kings 4-0 in the first round, outscoring them 13-5, after winning all three regular-season meetings.
DENVER – Nathan MacKinnon at +115 to score a goal is the best-supported of the MacKinnon, Makar props for the Colorado Avalanche’s season opener against the Los Angeles Kings. Denver has nearly -200 odds on the moneyline to open the season with a win.
MacKinnon’s Goal Price Sits Under His Scoring Rate
MacKinnon led the NHL with 53 goals and finished third with 127 points in 80 games last season, and his 65 points at home were the second most in the league. He scored in 39 of 80 games (48.8%) and in 19 of 40 at home (47.5%), against the 46.5% that +115 requires. That cushion is thin, but it is the only player prop on the board that last season’s rate clears.
The matchup cuts both ways. Los Angeles finished 30th on the penalty kill at 74.6% and 29th in scoring at 2.68 goals a game, and first-year coach Peter Laviolette was hired to fix both. The Kings also kept MacKinnon quieter than most, as he scored in three of the seven meetings last season, playoffs included, twice in the series clincher.
Darcy Kuemper, the Kings’ No. 1 goalie, won the 2022 Stanley Cup with Colorado and posted a .891 save percentage last season, well under his .913 career mark.
The table sets the player lines for MacKinnon and Cale Makar at legal sports betting sites against last season’s results.
MacKinnon anytime goal
- Odds
- +115
- Implies
- 46.5%
- Last season
- 39 of 80 games (19 of 40 at home)
Makar over 2.5 shots
- Odds
- -115
- Implies
- 53.5%
- Last season
- 32 of 75 games (16 of 37 at home)
Makar’s Shots Line Runs Ahead Of The Data
Makar’s over 2.5 at -115 needs 53.5% and cleared in 32 of 75 games (42.7%). His 2.65 average is lifted by eight games of five or more shots, and in 43 games he took two or fewer. Against Los Angeles he reached three shots in five of seven games, a small sample beside 75.
The scoring profile reads better than the shooting one. Makar’s 79 points ranked third among NHL defensemen, and 29 came on the power play. A 30th-ranked Los Angeles penalty kill opens that route, though Colorado’s own power play ranked 27th at 17.1%.
Colorado Is A Heavy Home Favorite
The NHL betting odds for the opener make the Presidents’ Trophy winners, 55-16-11 last season, heavy favorites, with Los Angeles at +168.
Colorado moneyline
- Odds
- -198
- Implies
- 66.4%
- Colorado home games, 2025-26
- 26 wins in 41
Colorado -1.5
- Odds
- +133
- Implies
- 42.9%
- Colorado home games, 2025-26
- 21 wins by two or more
Over 6
- Odds
- -120
- Implies
- 54.5%
- Colorado home games, 2025-26
- 19 over, 4 pushes
Under 6
- Odds
- +100
- Implies
- 50.0%
- Colorado home games, 2025-26
- 18 under, 4 pushes
Colorado won 26 of 41 home games (63.4%), a shade under what -198 needs. The puck line asks for only 42.9%, and Colorado won by two or more goals in 21 of those 41 (51.2%), including five of the seven meetings with Los Angeles.
The over at -120 won 19 of 37 home decisions (51.4%) against the 54.5% it needs, and although Kuemper’s .891 save percentage argues for goals, the seven meetings last season averaged 5.1. The teams meet twice more, March 7 in Los Angeles and April 2 in Denver.
