Dallas Stars vs. New Jersey Devils Betting Preview

betdsiArticles, Hockey, NHL

A couple of teams that are squarely in the playoff picture, the Dallas Stars and the New Jersey Devils collide at the Prudential Center for an East-West matchup. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, December 15, and it is being televised live on Fox Sports Southwest.

Dallas Stars at New Jersey Devils Odds

Dallas is 18-14 straight up (SU) and has earned 0.7 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 32 regular season outings, 17 of its games have gone over the total, while 14 have gone under and just one has pushed. The Stars are 8-10 SU as an away team in 2017-18.

Dallas has converted on 18.6 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 17th out of 31 teams, and the teams successfully killed off 81.3 percent of its penalties.

For the team as a whole, the Stars have been called for penalties 4.3 times per game overall this season, and 3.6 per game over its past five outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.

With a .909 save percentage and 25.3 saves per game, Ben Bishop (13-11) has been the best option in goal for Dallas this year. If Dallas decides to rest him, however, head coach Ken Hitchcock might turn to Kari Lehtonen (6-6-1 record, .913 save percentage, 2.44 goals against average).

Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Stars. Benn (29 points) is up to 13 goals and 16 assists, and has recorded multiple points six times. Seguin has 14 goals and 14 assists to his credit, and has notched at least one point in 20 games.

New Jersey is 17-14 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 7.6 units this season. 16 of its contests have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 7-7 SU at home this year.

The Devils have converted on just 19.8 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.2 percent of all penalties.

New Jersey players have been whistled for penalties 4.1 times per game in total this season, 3.6 per game over their last five games total, and 3.8 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.

Cory Schneider has stopped 29.8 shots per game as the top selection in goal for the Devils. Schneider has 13 wins, 10 losses, and four overtime losses and has recorded a .921 save percentage and 2.61 goals against average this year.

The home team offense will be led by Taylor Hall (11 goals, 20 assists).

Dallas Stars vs. New Jersey Devils Betting Predictions

Predictions: SU Winner – Stars, O/U – Over

Betting Trends

  • Dallas is 2-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while New Jersey is 2-2 in shootouts.
  • The over has hit in three of New Jersey’s last five outings.
  • 41.2 percent of New Jersey’s wins have come by two or more goals (the team is 7-8 overall in games decided by at least two scores) while 61.1 percent of Dallas wins have come by two goals or more (11-11 overall in such games).
  • The Devils this season have registered the 10th-most hits per game (22.5), but the teams averaged 26.4 over their past five games as the home team.