Odds courtesy of TonyBet.
Avalanche vs Stars Odds
The Avs sit at +135 on the moneyline at NHL betting sites. The Stars return at +165 odds. The O/U is set at 5.5 goals, and the Over has cashed in five of the last six meetings.
Dallas has also won three of the last four matchups, most recently beating Colorado 2-1 on March 18 in Denver at Ball Arena.
Avalanche vs Stars Analysis
Colorado is one of the clear-cut Stanley Cup favorites, and unless they completely collapse, the Avs will be the top seed in the West and Presidents’ Trophy winners. Jared Bednar’s squad officially became the first club to clinch a playoff berth a couple of weeks ago, and have compiled a 49-15-10 record overall. That puts them on 108 points – six points clear of the Stars, who are the second-best team in the Conference at the moment.
However, the Avalanche haven’t been as sharp lately. Conceding eight goals to the Canucks was very concerning, and they’ve now dropped two of their last three contests. On a more positive note, before the Vancouver defeat, Colorado hammered the Calgary Flames 9-2. Cale Makar remains out with an upper-body injury, so their blue line isn’t as strong as usual. Beating Dallas is always tough, but there’s no shortage of motivation. The Stars aren’t far behind them, and the Avs should be champing at the bit after losing badly to a team that had no business beating them.
Three straight Western Conference Finals exits for the Stars are incredibly disappointing, as they’ve fallen just short of the Stanley Cup time and again. However, all signs point to them making another deep playoff run. Dallas is a very fundamentally sound team on both ends of the rink, averaging 3.33 goals per game, while allowing just 2.70 per contest. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston lead the way offensively, but this group also has many other weapons.
However, the Stars also aren’t playing their best hockey as of late. They’ve lost six of their last eight games. But, the hope is that Thursday’s victory over the Jets is the start of Dallas turning things around ahead of the playoffs. It was the secondary pieces who produced the goods in this matchup, with Adam Erne, Matt Duchene, and Arttu Hyry scoring for the Stars. Glen Gulutzan’s team owns a 23-10-4 record at home.
Avalanche vs Stars Picks
We’re looking at two very talented teams, who have no issues putting the puck in the back of the net. While Dallas is very solid defensively, the Avs have so many stars, led by MacKinnon. I think we’ll see plenty of goals.
Pick: Over 5.5 goals (-137)/TonyBet
