The Colorado Avalanche have been easy money when playing at home this season. Entering Tuesday night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night, they had an 18-game home winning streak and had won 20 of their 23 games played in Denver.
To the surprise of no one, the Avalanche were a heavily favored team, as the Coyotes were +450 underdogs on the money line, per Caesars.
To the surprise of the hockey and wagering worlds, the Coyotes shocked the Avalanche, winning 4-3 in a shootout. Based on the official lines, it was the largest NHL upset in at least the last 10 seasons.
Previously, the largest upset in that span was when the Buffalo Sabres upset the Boston Bruins on March 17, 2015, going off as a +412 underdog.
“The boys take pride in the way they play,” said Arizona coach Andre Tourigny. “They know the Avs are a really good team, they were on a roll. They arrived here with a lot of pride, they played with a lot of passion, and they battled all the way through.”
The Coyotes are just 11-29-4 on the season, but they’ve given the Avalanche problems this season. Sandwiched around a 5-0 loss in Arizona on Jan. 15 were two games that went to the shootout, including Tuesday night’s win. On Jan. 14, the Coyotes lost 4-3 to Colorado in a shootout in Denver. The Avalanche were -700 favorites that night, which made them the largest favorites in any game in the last five seasons.
“Once you start winning you want to keep going,” Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said after Tuesday night’s loss. “That’s the culture we set here, to keep winning. We hate losing.”
Those bold enough to bet on the Coyotes didn’t hate it at all, actually.