In a game between two teams that have put themselves firmly in playoff contention, the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche face off at the Pepsi Center in a Central Division matchup. The action will get underway at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 22, and it’ll be broadcasted live on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.
Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche Odds
Dallas is 11-10 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 21 regular season outings, 11 of its games have gone over the total, while eight have gone under and just one has pushed. The Stars are 3-8 SU as a road team in 2017-18.
Dallas currently touts the third-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s converted on 26.2 percent of its extra-man opportunities this year. Its penalty kill is ranked 11th overall, and the teams successfully killed off 83.1 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, Dallas has been called for penalties 4.7 times per game in the 2017-18 season, and 6.2 per game over its past five games. The team has had to defend opponent power plays an unhealthy 16.4 minutes per game over their last five outings.
With a .908 save percentage and 24.3 saves per game, Ben Bishop (9-8) has been the best option in goal for Dallas this season. Bishop did just play last night, however, so the team may opt to rest him and instead turn to Kari Lehtonen (3-4-1 record, .897 save percentage, 2.89 goals against average).
The visiting Stars have relied heavily on Jamie Benn and John Klingberg this year. Benn has 21 points via 11 goals and 10 assists, and has recorded multiple points six times. Klingberg has four goals and 16 assists to his credit (and has notched a point in 12 games).
Over on the other bench, Colorado is 10-9 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.2 units for moneyline bettors this season. 14 of its contests have gone over the total, while five have gone under and none have pushed. It’s 6-2 SU at home this year.
Colorado has converted on 19.5 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 28th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 76.3 percent of all penalties.
Colorado players have been called for penalties 4.7 times per game in total this season, 5.0 per game over their last five contests total, and 4.2 per game over their last five home outings. The teams had to defend opponent power plays 8.8 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
Semyon Varlamov has stopped 30.2 shots per game as the primary netminder in goal for Colorado. Varlamov has seven wins, five losses, and one overtime loss to his credit and has registered a pedestrian 3.23 goals against average and a poor .903 save percentage this year.
The home team offense will be led by Nathan MacKinnon (seven goals, 15 assists).
Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- The total has gone over in each of Colorado’s last five outings.
- The Stars are 6-6 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Avalanche are 3-3 SU in games where they spend more time in the box than their opponent.
- Colorado is ranked 16th in the league with 8.1 takeaways per game. That figures trended lower recently, however, as the team has averaged 7.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.4 takeaways over its last five.
- Dallas has managed 5.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 6.6 takeaways per game (ranked 21st overall).
