A couple of teams that’ve positioned themselves squarely in playoff contention, the Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins face off at TD Garden in an East-West tilt. The match will get underway at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, January 15 and it can be caught live on Sportsnet.
Dallas Stars vs. Boston Bruins Odds
Boston (-155) is currently favored over Dallas (+135) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Earning moneyline bettors 2.9 units, Boston is 24-17 straight up (SU) overall in the 2017-18 season. That winning percentage, ranked fifth in the NHL so far in the early season, is fairly close to what the team posted during the 2016-17 season (44-38). Through 41 regular season matches, 20 of the team’s games have gone over the total, while an additional 20 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team’s 14-8 SU at home this season.
The Bruins have converted on 21.4 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s good enough for ninth-best in the league. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 10th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.7 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, the Bruins have been penalized 4.1 times per game overall this season, and 3.4 per game over their past ten matchups. The team has had to kill penalties for just 8.5 minutes per game over their last 10 matchups, overall.
With a .919 save percentage and 25.2 saves per game, Tuukka Rask (15-13-4) has been the top goalkeeper for Boston this year. If the Bruins, however, choose to rest him, Boston may roll with Anton Khudobin (9-6-6 record, .925 save percentage, 2.37 goals against average).
The Bruins will continue to rely on leadership out of Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Marchand (41 points) has tallied 18 goals and 23 assists and has recorded two or more points 13 times this year. Pastrnak has 17 goals and 22 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 27 games.
On the other bench, Dallas is 24-20 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.8 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 25 of its outings have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and just one has pushed. As the visiting team, the Stars are 8-13 SU so far.
The Stars have converted on 19.5 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 17th overall and it’s successfully killed off 80.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Dallas’ skaters have been called for penalties 4.3 times per game this season, and 3.5 per game over their last ten match ups. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays just 8.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Ben Bishop (2.52 goals against average and .916 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Dallas. Bishop is averaging 26.3 saves per game and has 19 wins, 16 losses, and two overtime losses to his credit.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Stars will be Tyler Seguin (21 goals, 19 assists) and John Klingberg (six goals, 34 assists).
Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Stars, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Six of Boston’s last ten outings have been decided by two or more goals. The team is 6-0 overall in those games.
The Stars are 11-7 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 15-9 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
Three of Boston’s last ten games have ended in a shootout. The team is 2-1 in those games and 3-2 overall in shootouts this season.
The over has hit in three of Boston’s last five games.
Boston skaters have averaged 7.2 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 9.1 giveaways per game (ranked 14th in the NHL).
Dallas is ranked eighth this season with 8.0 giveaways per game. That figure has trended higher, as the team’s averaged 9.3 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.8 giveaways over its last five.
The Bruins this season have recorded the sixth-most hits in the league (23.7 per game).
