Dallas Stars vs. Florida Panthers Prediction, Preview, and Odds
Two teams looking to rebound from a loss will square off when the Florida Panthers host the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. EST in FLA Live Arena. Dallas is currently in 2nd place in the Central Division, only one point behind the Colorado Avalanche. However, they have played one less game than Colorado, meaning a win here could boost them into the top spot with 33 points. Florida is sat at 2nd in their respective division as well with 30 points in 24 games played. The Panthers are slight favorites at a -120 money line while the total is set at an even six goals.
Stars Still Shining
After beating the Lightning 8-1, the Stars fell flat against the same team, losing by a score of 4-0. Five different players tied for the most shots on goal with three each and Jake Oettinger stopped only 19 of 23 shots in the effort.
Dallas has been able to win games due to their defensive prowess. They are 10th in the league with an average of 2.83 goals against despite ranking 22nd in shots against per game with 31.5. Their penalty kill has also been elite with an 88.8% kill rate, good for third in all of the NHL. Jani Hakanpaa has the highest +/- on the defense with a +9 and Miro Heiskanen leads all defenders with 14 points and 13 assists. Thomas Harley is the only defender to have multiple goals on the year while Hakanpaa has the second-most penalty minutes on the team with 27. Heiskanen has spent the most time on the ice among all Dallas players with an average of 25:09 while the next highest has an average of only 19:53 of ice time. Heiskanen is the only defender to have multiple points on the power play and leads blue-liners with 46 shots on the year. Jake Oettinger is the starting goalie with a 2.44 GAA and a 91.5% save percentage while Scott Wedgewood upped his totals to a 3.17 GAA and a 91.1% save percentage on the year after his last performance.
Dallas has improved offensively after struggling earlier this season. As it stands, they are 7th in goals scored per game with 3.39 and 22nd with an average of 29.7 shots per game. They are 6th in the face-off circle with a 52.6% win rate and their power play is at 22.1%, good for 11th in the NHL. Pavelski leads the Stars with 24 points and 11 goals. Jason Robertson has a team-high 14 assists on the year, but several others are close behind him. Matt Duchene has a team-best +8 on the season while Mason Marchment has the most penalty minutes on the squad with 30. Jason Robertson has the most ice time among forwards with 18:03 and Pavelski has five power play goals for the Stars while Robertson has five power play assists and the most shots on the squad with 59. The Stars only have Jerad Rosburg on the injured list, and he is out indefinitely.
Panthers Positioned for Success
Florida lost their most recent contest to the New York Islanders by a score of 4-3. Carter Verhaeghe was the only player on the Panthers to earn more than one point with a goal and an assist while tying with three other skaters for the most shots in the game with five each. Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk also scored for Florida and Anthony Stolarz stopped 23 of 27 shots in the effort.
Florida currently ranks 20th with an even 3.00 goals per game despite ranking 2nd in shots per contest with 34.1. The Panthers are winning 51.2% of their faceoffs, good for 11th in the league. Their power play could still use some work, as they are only successful 17.5% of the time, ranking 24th in the NHL. Sam Reinhart has the lead in points for Florida with 29 including a team-high 16 goals. Aleksander Barkov has the most assists on the squad with 15 and an incredible +15. Jonah Gadjovich has the most penalty minutes on the team by far with 41 and Reinhart has the most ice time among forwards with an average of 20:38. Reinhart has scored seven of his 16 goals from the power play and Barkov has contributed six of his assists from the power play. Matthew Tkachuk has the most shots on the squad with 95.
On the defensive end, Florida is giving up an average of 2.54 goals against per game and 27.6 shots against per game, ranking 4th and 3rd in the NHL respectively. They are 12th in the penalty kill as well, killing off 81.7% of their opposing power plays. Bobrovsky has taken the majority of starts in net and has compiled a 2.41 GAA and a 91.2% save percentage. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has 12 points on the season, most among defenders. Dmitry Kulikov has the most assists among blue-liners with eight while Ekman-Larsson has six goals to his name. Ironically, the pair also have the most penalty minutes among defenders with a combined 40 between them. Gustav Forsling has a +14 and Brandon Montour leads the squad in average ice time with 24:03. Forsling and Ekman-Larsson have the only power play goals among defenders for the Panthers and Ekman-Larsson has four power play assists on the year. Forsling has the most shots among blue-liners with 47. As it stands, the Panthers only have two players listed on the injury report. Josh Mahura is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury and Gajovich is questionable with an upper body injury.
Best Bets
Full-Game Side Bet
Rating:
As the side suggests, this is essentially a toss-up. Dallas ironically has done better on the road this year, but both teams have been average in their last ten. The Stars have won their last three of four meetings against the Panthers both as underdogs and as favorites while the Panthers have been struggling to score despite being one of the top shot-producing teams in the league. I like Dallas in this case primarily because the value is greater for a Stars win and they have been producing more on offense recently. I trust Oettinger to have a redemption game against the Panthers and keep pace with the Avalanche.
Prediction: Dallas Stars Money Line (+100)
Full-Game Total Pick
Rating:
Both teams have solid offensive numbers and Jake Oettinger has looked shaky in his last few starts. Although I expect him to have a bounce back performance, Florida can still produce enough shots to get around three to sneak past Oettinger. Dallas has gotten better on the power play and despite their limited shots, they are scoring when it counts. In their last five meetings, these two teams have totaled the over in four of them. Dallas is averaging 3.80 goals per game in their last ten contests and Florida has totaled six or more goals in their last two games. They have also scored 14 goals in their last four games heading into this contest. I am expecting something similar to a 4-3 victory if it isn't that exact score.
Prediction: Over 6
Seamus has grown up in the world of sports his entire life, with his mother and father playing multiple sports during their early years. As a result, Seamus tried nearly every sport he could and found a passion for watching as many games as possible, particularly the "core four" sports. Seamus first started writing sports articles when he was 18 years old. He has covered a variety of sports, ranging from the NFL to the Korean Baseball League, to amateur soccer, and so forth. His knowledge and range of all sports has led him to be successful in making picks across the board. Over the past five years, he has learned more about betting trends along with the business side of sports, graduating with a sport management and economics degree. We're excited to have Seamus on the team, as he provides quality insight and finds hidden values in games where the average person would not. His dedication to finding the best matchups to bet on is top-tier and he finds intrinsic value in helping others make money using his hard work and detailed analysis. You can be sure that if you follow Seamus on a daily basis, you will not be disappointed.
