PIT vs. COL Pick: PIT +1.5

Detroit made us sweat, but Andrew Copp got the job done. His late goal beat Philadelphia 2–1 on Thursday, giving us another winner after Boston came through on our previous Daily Pick. Tonight, we’re heading to Denver with Pittsburgh +1.5 at -140.

The Avalanche have been busy. After back-to-back meetings with Dallas and a day off Thursday, they’re playing their third game in four nights. Pittsburgh hasn’t played since Tuesday. A little extra recovery time is welcome when the next assignment involves chasing Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

Colorado has scored 31 goals through seven games, so the Penguins would be wise to bring some offense of their own. Sidney Crosby is expected to have Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust on his wings, with Evgeni Malkin, Andrei Kuzmenko and Nick Robertson giving Pittsburgh options elsewhere in the lineup. The Penguins have the personnel to make Colorado spend some of the evening defending, too.

The Avs are expected to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Nicolas Roy, Zachary L’Heureux and Logan O’Connor unavailable. Over a busy week, that’s more work to distribute among fewer forwards. Pittsburgh should have an opportunity to use its depth rather than ask Crosby’s line to carry every shift.

Arturs Silovs brings an encouraging last start into this one, having stopped 24 of 25 shots against Dallas. His season has been uneven, but that was the sort of performance Pittsburgh needed. Mackenzie Blackwood was sharp against the Stars in his latest outing as well, so there’s no reason to expect either offense to have everything its own way.

Colorado deserves to be favored at home. But a rested Pittsburgh lineup, with its top forwards available and a goal and a half in our pocket, is where we’re putting today’s pick.

SLS Daily Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins +1.5 (-140). Playable at -145 or better.