In what was originally supposed to be a 5 game slate tonight in the NHL however, we only have one game going. Ideally, we’d have more games to chose from but, I’ll take what I can get and breakdown the Minnesota Wild vs the Dallas Stars.
The following games have been cancelled due to COVID-19:
- Columbus Blue Jackets @ Buffalo Sabres
- Montreal Canadiens @ New York Islanders
- Colorado Avalanche @ Detroit Red Wings
- Anaheim Ducks @ Edmonton Oilers
Minnesota Wild @ Dallas Stars
- Time: 8:30 PM ET
- TV Coverage: ESPN+
- Minnesota Wild: 19-8-2, 1st Central (9-6-1 Away)
- Dallas Stars: 14-12-2, 6th Central (10-3-1 Home)
| Team | Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total |
| Minnesota Wild | +107 | -110 | +1.5 (-255) | o5.5 (-125) |
| Dallas Stars | -118 | -110 | -1.5 (+215) | u5.5 (+105) |
Trends:
- Over is 9-1 in Wild last 10 games playing on 1 day rest.
- Wild are 4-0 in their last 4 vs Central.
- Stars are 9-1 in their last 10 home games.
- Under is 7-1 in Stars last 8 home games.
Preview:
Minnesota Wild
The Wild enter this matchup on a three game losing streak dropping games to Los Angeles, Vegas, and Buffalo. They played their last game on Thursday as their game vs Florida was cancelled on Saturday due to the Panthers having a COVID outbreak.
The Wild have been good offensively averaging 3.02 Goals For Per 60 which ranks 2nd in the NHL. Although, they have been below that average during their 3 game losing streak which makes sense. Minnesota also has one of the best Goals For Above Expected differentials with a +10.41. Like I mentioned before, they’re starting to regress slightly but still have a 55..56 Goal %. One area of concern offensively for them has been their Power Play % which ranks 23rd. Krill Kaprizov leads the team in points with 33 through 29 games.
On the opposite side of the puck, the Wild haven’t been as good. They have a +0.83 Goals Against Above Expected and are averaging 2.42 Goals Against Per 60. While these numbers aren’t awful, they’re not great either. They’ve currently rank 22nd in Shots on Goal Allowed but have done a good job at limiting High Danger Shots Against only allowing 44 on the year.
Cam Talbot has been confirmed as the starter for them tonight in net. Talbot has a +6.5 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) on the year. In his last few games he has allowed 2-5-2-1-3 goals against with a 3-2 record. When Tablot has allowed 2 or fewer goals, the Wild have only lost twice which isn’t really a shocking stat.
Dallas Stars
The Stars snapped their five game losing streak on Saturday beating the Chicago Blackhawks in OT 4-3. However, prior to the five game losing streak, they were on a tear winning seven games in a row.
Dallas has made their money at home this season with a 10-3-1 record while they have struggled on the road. They haven’t been great on offense this year averaging just 1.81 Goals For Per 60. To make matters worse, they haven’t been able to capitalize on scoring chances with a -10.33 Goals For Above Expected. The Stars have a 45.16 Goal % which again, isn’t great. Despite the Stars offensive woes, they do rank 4th in Power Play % and 1st in Faceoff %. Joe Pavelski leads the team in points with 26 through 28 games. He’s coming off a 4 point performance against Chicago.
Defensively, Dallas has been better statistically averaging 2.2 Goals Against Per 60 along with a -1.12 Goals Against Above Expected. The Stars have done a great job at limiting shots from opponents ranking 10th. They also should be able to shut down the Wild’s Power Play which has been struggling this year.
Jake Oettinger has been confirmed as the starter in net for the Stars. He has a +6.0 GSAx through his nine starts. Oettinger was recalled from the minors back in November and has been solid for the Stars this year. Given Holtby’s struggles recently Oettinger will remain the starter in Dallas.
Picks:
- DAL/ MIN OVER 5.5 (-125)
- This an incredibly tough game to pick. The Stars on one hand have seemed to have finally broken through offensively in their win on Saturday. However, they face a tough Minnesota squad that’s going through a rough patch since Dean Evason took over. The Wild avoided two tough games with Florida and Carolina both being postponed so they should have had some time off to figure things out. While the Stars have been almost an automatic under play in the past few years, I have a feeling this game goes over given Minnesota’s need for a win.
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
