Two of the league’s best at killing off power plays, the Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars conclude the seasons at the American Airlines Center. This divisional matchup will get underway at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 6, and it’ll air live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars Odds
The Stars are 42-39 straight up (SU) and have not been kind to moneyline bettors (to the tune of -1.6 units) thus far. That early-season winning percentage hasn’t moved much from the 42-40 record the team managed during the 2017-18 season campaign. Through 81 regular season matches, 48 of the team’s games have gone under the total, while 23 have gone over and just nine have pushed. The team is 23-17 SU at home this year.
Dallas has converted on 20.9 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.7 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Big D has been penalized 3.5 times per game overall this season, and 2.6 per game over its last five at home. The team’s had to stave off opposition power plays for just 5.2 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
Averaging 26.9 saves per game with a .933 save percentage, Ben Bishop (27-18-2) has been the best option in goal for the Stars this season. If the Stars decide to give him the evening off, however, head coach Jim Montgomery could turn to Anton Khudobin (18-23-23 record, .923 save percentage, 2.57 goals against average).
Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov will both lead the charge for the Stars. Seguin (78 points) has tallied 31 goals and 47 assists and has recorded multiple points in 20 different games this year. Radulov has 29 goals and 42 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 44 contests.
On the other hand, Minnesota is 37-44 straight up (SU) and has lost 16.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 43 of its outings have gone under the total, while 31 have gone over and just seven have pushed. As the road team, Minnesota is 21-19 SU.
Minnesota has converted on 20.5 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked eighth overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.9 percent of all penalties.
Minnesota’s players have been whistled for penalties 3.5 times per game in total this season, 3.2 per game over their past five outings total, and 3.4 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 7.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Devan Dubnyk (.913 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Minnesota. Dubnyk is averaging 25.6 saves per game and owns a 32-35-6 record.
Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Wild will be Zach Parise, who’s got 28 goals and 33 assists this year.
Minnesota Wild vs. Dallas Stars Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The under has hit in four of Minnesota’s last five games.
- Minnesota has managed 29.4 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Dallas is averaging 37.6 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- The Wild are 15-19 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 25-29 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Dallas is 1-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Minnesota is 1-4 in shootouts.
- Dallas is ranked 20th with 7.0 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended higher, as it has averaged 8.0 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.8 takeaways over its last five.
- Minnesota is ranked 22nd in the league with 6.9 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower lately, however, as the team has created 6.0 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.0 takeaways over its last five.
