Stars vs. Blues Odds
| Stars Odds | +130 |
| Blues Odds | -160 |
| Over/Under | 6 |
| Time | 2 p.m. ET |
| TV | NHL Network |
| Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
Dallas will look to build upon a four-game win streak against Central Division-rival St. Louis, following an impressive comeback victory Saturday to snap the Penguins' 10 game heater. The Stars now pull themselves within two points of the final wild-card spot with three games in hand.
St. Louis bounced back from a tough collapse against those Penguins earlier in the week on Friday, besting Washington 5-1. The Blues will look to build upon a dominant 7-2-1 run of play.
Stars Continue to Fly Under Radar
Saturday's contest offered a mini synopsis of Dallas' Jekyll-and-Hyde play this season. It was thoroughly outplayed by the Penguins in the first period, before finding its legs and grinding out a regulation win against a Pittsburgh group that has simply dominated all competition of late.
The win moved the Stars to 13-3-1 on home ice, a shocking split compared to their 4-9-1 road record.
The Stars have certainly made me go back and forth on my thinking, but they were a team I expected to head back to the playoffs this season. Their recent four-game win streak now has them holding the eighth-best winning percentage in the conference.
The Stars have finally received some support from depth scorers behind their utterly ridiculous top trio of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski, The three have quietly been among the league's most productive units dating back to last season.
The second line of Denis Gurianov, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have combined to post 12 points over the four-game win streak. They won't produce at that rate big picture, but they should be able to be at least a servable second line, production wise.
Gurianov has always looked like who can candidate to produce more, to my eye, this season. He offers a notably underrated offensive skillset with a lethal one-timer and strong skating ability, and he has yet to find consistent offensive form now skating in his 24-year-old season.
If Dallas can continue to find some improved offensive play, it's easy to see it heading back to the postseason. It seems like the Stars have been largely forgotten coming out of their extended break, as they sit outside of the playoff picture due to having played less games.
Braden Holtby will draw the start having rested Saturday, and he has been solid so far this season with a .919 save % and -0.1 goals saved above expected mark throughout 16 games.
Blues Excel at Seam Plays
Even short the services of Vlad Tarasenko, the Blues' very talented forward core put together another strong offensive showing Friday, handing Washington its first blowout loss of the season. The Blues' five-goal output built upon their sixth-best goals-for-per-game mark of 3.49 this season.
The Blues have been a notably strong group at finding and creating seam plays, and they lead the league in slot passes completed this season. They also hold some lethal shooters to finish plays off.
Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas have only built upon strong seasons last year, both going as excellent top-six options in support of the usual suspects in David Perron, Ryan O Reilly, and Brayden Schenn, and Pavel Buchnevich.
Behind them lies a defensive core which has shown better of late, but I would certainly still argue they hold some weaker depth defenders behind the top dogs, and I expect them to be a middling club defensively big picture.
Jordan Binnington will likely draw back in here, and has posted a -1.6 goals saved above expected rating with a .908 save % throughout 20 games played this season.
Stars vs. Blues Pick
At -160, I actually don't see much value with backing the Blues here, and I think that ultimately outside of the notable home-and-road splits, these teams aren't as drastically far apart as many may currently believe.
St. Louis escaped a notably treacherous first period against Washington and ultimately held it to a lower total, but I still believe this will be an average team defensively big picture this season. I think it's realistic that Binnington finishes with some very middling numbers as well.
As outlined, Dallas has seen a notable offensive upswing of late with the second line finally clicking into gear to support its unbelievable top line, and I think that it's likely we can see them post a reasonable offensive output again here.
With that said, it will be tough for the Stars to entirely shut down what has been a lethal St. Louis attack, and although Rick Bowness' club's strength figures to be its defensive play, it simply has not often gone that way on the road this season.
I'm going to make two half-unit plays on this game, and back Dallas to win at +135, which I would play down to +125, and I'll back the game to over 6 at +100, which I would play down to -115 odds.
Pick: Dallas (+130) | Total Over 6 (+100)
