Ryan Suter, Eric Staal, and the Minnesota Wild will face off against Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov, and the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center in a divisional matchup. The first puck will drop at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, February 7, and you can catch it live on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.
Minnesota Wild vs. Dallas Stars Odds
The Stars (-175) are being picked as the big favorites over the Wild (+155) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 5 goals (-140 to bet the over, +120 for the under) at William Hill Sportsbook.
Dallas is 30-23 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 3.5 units this year. That win percentage, ranked third in the Central Division so far this season, is fairly close to what the team managed during the 2018-19 season (43-39). Through 53 regular season contests, 32 of its games have gone under the total, while 19 have gone over and just two have pushed. The team’s 16-10 SU at home this year.
The Stars have converted on 19.6 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 11th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.4 percent of all penalties.
With a .925 save percentage and 27.2 saves per game, Ben Bishop (20-16-4) has been the primary goalkeeper for Dallas this season. If head coach Rick Bowness decides to give him a rest, however, Dallas could turn to Anton Khudobin (12-9-9 record, .927 save percentage, 2.34 goals against average).
In the other locker room, Minnesota is 25-28 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.6 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 25 of its contests have gone over the total, while 22 have gone under the total and just five have pushed. The Wild are 9-17 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Wild have converted on 21.1 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 32nd overall and it’s successfully killed off 73.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
Alex Stalock (.905 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Minnesota. Stalock is averaging 25.4 saves per game and owns a 14-13-3 record.
Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars Betting Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
The Wild are 8-11 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Stars are 16-10 SU in games where they serve more minutes than the opposition.
Minnesota is 1-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Dallas is 2-2 in shootouts.
For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their past five matchups.
Minnesota skaters have averaged 7.4 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 6.7 giveaways per game (ranked first in the league).
Dallas is ranked 30th this season with 12.4 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower, however, as it’s averaged 10.0 giveaways over its last 10 games and 11.2 giveaways over its last five.
