Squaring off for the final time this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Dallas Stars meet at the American Airlines Center. The first puck will drop at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 26, and fans at home will be able to watch this East-West matchup live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Dallas Stars Odds
Pittsburgh (+120) is playing the role of underdog to Dallas (-140), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -115 for the over and -105 for the under.
Pittsburgh is 6-5 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.5 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Six of its matches have gone under the total, while four have gone over and just one has pushed. The Pens are 2-2 SU as the away team in 2019-20.
Pittsburgh has converted on 17.6 percent of its power play chances thus far. That’s a fairly big drop-off from last season, when it was ranked fifth in the NHL by scoring on 23.8 percent of its extra-man chances. Its penalty kill has improved slightly since last year, however, as the team’s gone from successfully defending 80.0 percent of all opponent power plays (ranked 17th overall last season) to 80.8 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, Pittsburgh has been sent to the penalty box just 2.8 times per game this season, a number that has improved from the 3.4 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.3 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has had to stave off opponent power plays for 7.1 minutes per outing this year.
Boasting a .909 save percentage and 26.3 saves per game, Matt Murray (5-3) has been the best option in goal for Pittsburgh this season. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, Pittsburgh might go with Tristan Jarry (1-2 record, .939 save percentage, 2.02 goals against average).
Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Penguins. Crosby has 14 points via four goals and 10 assists, and has recorded two or more points in five different games. Guentzel has six goals and five assists to his credit (and has registered at least one point in eight games).
On the other side of the rink, Dallas is 4-8 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 12 regular season matches, nine of its games have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. The team’s 2-3 SU at home this year.
Dallas has converted on just 8.8 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that places it in the bottom overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked ninth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 85.4 percent of all penalties.
The Stars have been penalized 3.5 times per game this season, a number that’s pretty close to the 3.5 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 7.7 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has had to stave off opponent power plays for 7.4 minutes per matchup this season.
Ben Bishop (27.3 saves per game) has been the top option in the crease for Dallas. Bishop has three wins, five losses, and one overtime loss to his credit and has maintained a 2.38 goals against average and a .920 save percentage this year.
The home team offense will be led by Roope Hintz (six goals, one assist).
Pittsburgh Penguins at Dallas Stars Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The total has gone under in four of Dallas’ last five outings.
- The Penguins are 2-1 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Stars are 2-4 SU in games where they spend more time in the box than their opponent.
- After losing two of its three shootouts last year, Dallas is off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Pittsburgh went 2-3 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- Pittsburgh has scored 3.3 goals per game this season, but is averaging 1.3 goals per match up over its three-game losing streak.
