| The Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche renew their rivalry as they meet tonight in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series at Joe Louis Arena.
The Avalanche and Red Wings have a rich playoff history, as they combined to win five Stanley Cup titles from 1996-2002, meeting five times during that stretch. This is the first time the clubs have faced off in the postseason since Detroit beat Colorado in seven games in the 2002 Western Conference finals. Colorado has won three of the five all-time playoff series with the Red Wings.
Chris Osgood will start in goal for Detroit. In the first round against the Nashville Predators, Detroit replaced starting goalie Dominik Hasek with Chris Osgood after the series was tied at 2-2. Osgood shut down the Predators in Games 5 and 6, getting a shutout in the series finale.
Jose Theodore will be in net for Colorado. Theodore was stellar for the Avs in their first-round series against the Minnesota Wild, stopping 188-of-200 shots in the series and posting a 1.88 GAA and .940 save percentage.
Colorado has not fared well against Detroit of late, going 8-22 in the past 30 meetings overall, and 1-6 in the past seven meetings in Detroit.
Five of the past seven meetings have gone under the total. The favored team is 4-0 in the past four meetings.
The game can be seen on VERSUS and TSN.
Betting Line: Detroit is a -180 moneyline favorite at BetUS and the total is 5.
Betting Consensus: About 80 per cent of bets on this game have been placed on Detroit.
Pick: Detroit.
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