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Dallas Stars vs. Ottawa Senators Matchup Preview 10/15/18

NHL

Canadian Tire Centre will play host to an East-West matchup as the Dallas Stars pay a visit to the Ottawa Senators. The action will get started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, October 15, and fans at home can watch the game live on Fox Sports Southwest.

Dallas Stars at Ottawa Senators Odds

With a -165 moneyline, Dallas enters the matchup as the obvious favorite. The line for Ottawa sits at +145, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals (-125 money on the over, +105 on the under). Those O/U odds have shifted after initially opening at -120 over, +100 under.

Dallas is 3-1 straight up (SU) and has netted 1.8 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked fifth in the NHL so far this season, is an improvement over the 42-40 record from the 2017-18 season campaign.

The Stars have impressively converted on 54.5 percent of their power play opportunities so far. That’s a nice step forward from last season, when they were ranked 19th in the NHL by scoring on 19.3 percent of their extra-man chances. Their penalty kill has fallen off noticeably year-over-year, however, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 80.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 13th overall last season) to 70.0 percent this year.

The Stars, as a collective unit, have been called for penalties 3.5 times per game this season. Last year, that figure was the fourth-highest mark in the league at 4.2 penalties per game. After serving an average of 10.1 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has had to stave off opponent power plays for only 7.8 minutes per outing this year.

With a .924 save percentage and 28.3 saves per game, Ben Bishop (2-1) has been the best option in goal for Dallas this year. If Dallas chooses to rest him, however, head coach Jim Montgomery might turn to Anton Khudobin (1-0), who has a .880 save percentage and 3.02 goals against average this year.

The visiting Stars have relied heavily on Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov this season. Seguin (10 points) is up to three goals and seven assists this season; Radulov has four goals and five assists to his name through the early phase of the regular season.

On the other side of the rink, Ottawa is 2-3 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 0.8 units this year. Through five regular season outings, four of its games have gone over the total, while zero have gone under and one has pushed. This season, the team’s 1-2 SU at home.

The Senators have scored on 31.3 percent of their extra-man advantages this year after converting on 16.5 percent (ranked 26th in league) last season. They’ve killed off a remarkable 78.9 percent of all penalties, compared to 76.1 percent in 2017-18 (when they were ranked 27th in the NHL).

Ottawa skaters have been penalized 4.8 times per game this season, a number that’s risen noticeably from the 3.5 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.1 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 10.0 minutes per matchup this year.

Craig Anderson has denied 36.8 shots per game as the primary selection in goal for the Senators. Anderson has two wins, two losses, and one OT loss to his credit and has recorded a pedestrian 3.52 goals against average and a .913 save percentage this season.

Thomas Chabot (two goals, six assists) will lead the offensive counter for the Senators.

Dallas Stars at Ottawa Senators Betting Picks

Prediction: SU Winner – Senators, O/U – Over

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Notes

Betting Notes

The over has hit in four of Ottawa’s last five games.

Dallas has managed only 0.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Ottawa has been attempting 27.3 shots per game over its last five at home.

Dallas skaters recorded 22.7 hits per game last season, while the Senators logged 24.0 hits per contest.

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Written by GMS Previews

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