Wild vs. Stars Prediction and Odds (Minnesota Brings NHL's Second Worst ATS Record on the Road)
By Matt De Saro
Central Division rivals on opposite ends of the playoff bubble face off tonight at the American Airlines Center.
The Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars are both in the hunt for a playoff berth heading into the last couple of weeks of the season. But, the Wild are in second place with 96 points. While they are tied with the St. Louis Blues, the pair have a nice seven-point cushion between themselves and the Nashville Predators.
On the other side of the bubble, the Dallas Stars are barely hanging on to avoid elimination with 88 points. They are one point behind the Predators for the fourth spot and could still earn a Wild Card spot.
Here are the odds for tonight’s matchup, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.
Wild vs. Stars Odds and Total
Moneyline:
- Wild -120
- Stars +100
Puck line:
- Wild -1.5 (+200)
- Stars +1.5 (-250)
Total:
- 6 (Over -120/Under +100)
Wild vs. Stars Prediction and Pick
I’ve noticed that many teams in the playoff hunt have begun to struggle over the last couple of weeks. Many even have losing records as they try to lock down a playoff berth. The Wild are not dealing with these types of issues down the stretch. Minnesota has kept its foot on the gas and is 7-1-2 in their last 10 games; including a modest two-game winning streak at their backs,
I thought the Wild had a good chance to keep it going tonight on the road. Until I looked at their puck line record. The Stars are the second-worst road team against the spread at 15-23. That works out to Dallas covering less than 40 percent of games on the road.
The Wild, meanwhile, have the fifth-best ATS record in the NHL at 20-15 when playing at home. Heading into tonight, the Stars are 4-1 ATS in their last five overall. This is good information, but because the puck line odds have no value, I can't reasonably suggest betting on the Stars at -250. I will, however, take a chance on them to win this game outright. The home/away splits suggest that this is a good spot to fade the Wild as road favorites.
Pick: Stars +100 to win
Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE