Pittsburgh Penguins vs Colorado Avalanche Picks and Predictions for Friday, October 16th, 2026
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be in Denver on Friday to face the Colorado Avalanche. Pittsburgh sits in 4th place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 3-3-1 after dropping their last game to Chicago by 5-3 on Tuesday. The Penguins have fallen in four of their last five games. Colorado is in third place in the Central Division with a 4-2-1 record after they lost to Dallas on Wednesday by 3-2 in a shootout. Colorado has won two of their last five games. The game will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET. Cash in a winner with our free NHL picks.
Pittsburgh Penguins Need a Win
The Penguins have dropped four of their last five games, including their loss to Chicago on Tuesday. They did manage to beat Dallas on Saturday by 2-1 in a shootout after losing to Columbus by 3-2 in a shootout. Pittsburgh also lost to Washington by 5-3 and Winnipeg by 3-2. The Penguins are 1-2-1 on the road and are averaging 3.43 goals per game on 28.4 shots per game. Pittsburgh has allowed 3.00 goals per game on 28.3 shots. The Penguins have scored 4 goals on the power play for a rate of 16.7% and have stopped 89.5% on the penalty kill.
Erik Karlsson is leading Pittsburgh with 7 points, all assists. Samuel Girard is next with 6 points, with a goal and 5 assists. Nick Robertson is leading the Penguins in goals with 4. Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak are tied with 3 goals each. Sidney Crosby has 2 goals and 2 assists. Arturs Silovs (3-1-0) is averaging 2.72 goals against per game with a save percentage of .885 and one shutout. Sergei Murashov (0-2-1) is averaging 2.99 goals against per game with a save percentage of .911.
Injured: Trevor van Riemsdyk, Justin Brazeau, and Ryan Graves are out.
Colorado Avalanche Want More Wins
Colorado lost their last game to Dallas by 3-2 in a shootout. They had beaten the Dallas Stars the day before 3-2. The Avalanche lost to Toronto 6-3 after they beat Calgary 7-3. Colorado is 2-1-1 at home and is averaging 4.43 goals per game on 30.6 shots per game. They have allowed 3.00 goals per game on 25.1 shots. The Avalanche have scored 5 goals on the power play for a rate of 20.0% and have killed 82.4% of penalties.
Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado with 12 points on 5 goals and 7 assists. Martin Necas is next with 7 points, with four goals and three assists. Cale Makar has 3 goals and 4 assists. Mackenzie Blackwood (3-2-0) is averaging 3.04 goals against per game and a save percentage of .879. Scott Wedgewood (1-0-1) is averaging 2.40 goals against per game with a save percentage of .902.
Injured: Logan O'Connor, Georgii Merkulov, Zachary L'Heureux, and Nicolas Roy are out
Key To The Game
Colorado is averaging one more goal per game than Pittsburgh. While allowing the same amount of goals at 3.00 per game. They also allow fewer shots per game at 25.1 to Pittsburgh's 28.3. The scoring of Nathan MacKinnon is a big advantage for Colorado in this matchup.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Colorado Avalanche Pick
- Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche have scored 31 goals in 7 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins have only scored 24 goals in 7 games. Colorado has many players that can score at any time. With Nathan MacKinnon leading the way, Martin Necas, Cale Makar, and Artturi Lehkonen have all scored multiple goals. Pittsburgh has dropped four of their last five games and are struggling on the road. Colorado will outshoot Pittsburgh and allow fewer shots as well. Expect the Avalanche to capitalize on Pittsburgh’s recent bad run.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Colorado Avalanche Over/Under Pick
- Over
The Colorado Avalanche are averaging 4.43 goals per game, and Pittsburgh is averaging 3.43 goals per game. Each team is allowing 3.00 goals per game; therefore, expect a high-scoring outcome on Friday. Colorado has scored 7 goals against Calgary and 3 goals against Dallas in its last 4 games. The Penguins have allowed 5 goals in 2 of the last 4 games. With plenty of scoring expected, the over will cash on Friday