NHL Best Bets, Predictions & Expert Picks Sunday, May 17, 2026

Analysis

Colorado sits at 55 and 16 on the season. Minnesota checks in at 46 and 24. The Wild are missing three key pieces. Zach Bogosian is out. Jonas Brodin is out. Joel Eriksson Ek is out. That is a massive hole in the lineup for Minnesota. Colorado has been rolling all year and the rest advantage favors them today. The model sees this as a spot where the line is not moving enough to account for those missing bodies. The Avalanche play a faster pace and Minnesota struggles to keep up when missing their top defenders. Colorado should control play most of the game. The numbers back a clean win for the home side here. Minnesota will need to overachieve to stay close and that rarely happens on short rest against a team this good. Colorado has covered in their last six home games. The public is still laying points on Minnesota in spots like this because they remember the regular season record. But the injury report tells a different story. This is a spot to back the better team with the healthier roster.

Public Fade

The public sees Minnesota at 46 and 24 and assumes they are close enough to win outright. They are missing three regular rotation players today. That makes their actual strength much lower than the line suggests. Colorado should win comfortably.