The American Airlines Center plays host to an East-West clash as the Florida Panthers come into town to face the Dallas Stars. It’s the last time that these two clubs will meet in the regular season. The opening face-off takes place at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 23, and it’s being shown live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Florida Panthers vs. Dallas Stars Odds
Dallas comes into the contest as the obvious favorite with a -175 moneyline. The line for Florida sits at +155 and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -115 money on the over and -105 on the under.
Earning moneyline bettors 0.4 units, Dallas is 27-21 straight up (SU) overall this year. That early-season winning percentage is a complete turnaround from how the team performed during the 2016-17 season (34-48). Of its 48 games this season, 27 have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under and just one has pushed. This season, the team is 16-7 SU at home.
The Stars have converted on 20.3 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 16th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 81.7 percent of all penalties.
The Stars, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.3 times per game overall this season, and 3.4 per game over their last five at home. The team has had to kill penalties for 8.8 minutes per game over their last five outings, overall.
Averaging 25.9 saves per game with a .917 save percentage, Ben Bishop (20-17-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Stars this year. If the Stars, however, choose to give him the night off, Dallas may go with Kari Lehtonen (8-7-7 record, .914 save percentage, 2.42 goals against average).
John Klingberg and Jamie Benn will each lead the way for the Stars. Klingberg (46 points) has tallied six goals and 40 assists and has recorded multiple points 11 times this year. Benn has 19 goals and 27 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 31 contests.
Florida is 19-26 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.2 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 45 regular season outings, 24 of its games have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and none have pushed. The Panthers are 8-16 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Panthers have converted on just 16.4 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 25th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 17th overall and it’s successfully killed off 80.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
Florida’s skaters have been called for penalties 4.2 times per game this season, and 3.3 per game over their last ten games. The teams had to defend opponent power plays just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
James Reimer (.910 save percentage and 3.04 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Reimer is averaging 28.5 saves per game and owns a 13-18-5 record.
Jonathan Huberdeau (16 goals, 30 assists) has been one of the top facilitators on offense for the visiting Panthers.
Florida Panthers vs. Dallas Stars Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Stars, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Over Dallas last ten outings, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-1 in those games).
- The extra-man advantage could be key in this matchup. The Panthers are 5-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 8-16 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Stars are 11-8 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 16-10 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Florida is 2-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Dallas is 3-2 in shootouts.
- Dallas could hold an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The teams 10-7 in games decided by one goal, while Florida is 10-13 in such games.
- The total has gone under in three of Dallas last five games.
- Dallas has averaged 9.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 7.8 giveaways per game (the 7th-fewest in the league).
- Florida is ranked 27th this season with 11.9 giveaways per game. That figures trended down lately, however, as it’s averaged 10.9 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.8 giveaways over its last five.
