In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets meet at Nationwide Arena. The action will get going at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 16, and fans at home can witness this East-West matchup live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Odds
Dallas (+100) is entering this one as the underdog to Columbus (-120), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-125 for the under, +105 for the over).
The Blue Jackets are 2-3 straight-up (SU) and have hurt moneyline bettors to the tune of -0.7 units so far. That early-season winning percentage is a regression from the 47-35 record that the team managed during last year’s regular season campaign. Through five regular season outings, three of the team’s games have gone under the total, while two have gone over and none have pushed. The team’s 1-2 SU at home so far this year.
Columbus has successfully scored on 20.0 percent of its power play chances thus far. That’s a significant improvement from last year, when the team was ranked 25th in the league by scoring on 16.7 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has fallen off noticeably year-over-year as it has gone from successfully defending 84.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked second overall last season) to 70.6 percent this year.
As a team, Columbus has been penalized 3.8 times per game this season. Last year, it posted the lowest mark in the league with 2.8 penalties per game. After serving an average of 6.5 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 8.2 minutes per outing this season.
Sporting a .892 save percentage and 22.8 saves per game, Joonas Korpisalo (2-2) has been the primary option in goal for the Blue Jackets this season. If the Jackets choose to rest him, however, the team might roll with Elvis Merzlikins (0-1-1 record, .825 save percentage, 7.00 goals against average).
The Jackets will continue seeking leadership from Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nick Foligno. Dubois (three points) has tallied two goals and one assist while Foligno has one goal and two assists to his credit so far in the early stages of the season.
Dallas has lost 6.0 units for moneyline bettors this year and is currently 1-6 straight up (SU). Through seven regular season contests, five of its games have gone under the total, while two have gone over and none have pushed. Dallas’ 1-3 SU as a road team this season.
Dallas has recorded a goal on 4.5 percent of its power play chances this year after successfully converting on 21.2 percent of its extra-man opportunities last season (which ranked them seventh league-wide in that category). The team’s gone from killing off 84.4 percent of opponent power plays (ranked third overall last season) to 82.1 percent in 2019-20.
Dallas’ players have been called for penalties 4.0 times per game this season, a number that is up a bit from 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’s had to kill penalties for 8.3 minutes per outing this season.
Ben Bishop (2.78 goals against average and .895 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Dallas. Bishop is averaging 23.8 saves per game and owns a 1-4-1 record.
Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Stars will be Roope Hintz (four goals, one assist) and Mattias Janmark (one goal, three assists).
Dallas Stars at Columbus Blue Jackets Free Picks
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Blue Jackets, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- For both of these clubs, the under has hit in three of their last five matchups.
- Dallas has managed 25.8 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Columbus is averaging 33.3 shots per game over its last five at home.
- The Stars are 0-2 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 0-4 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes.
- After losing two of its three shootouts last year, Dallas is off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Columbus was 2-1 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- Dallas has given up 3.7 goals per game (while managing just 1.0 goal per contest) over its three-game losing skid.
