Two of the most heavily-penalized clubs in the league, the Florida Panthers and the Dallas Stars face off at the American Airlines Center for an East-West matchup. The opening face-off takes place at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 23, and it’ll be televised live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Florida Panthers at Dallas Stars Odds
Dallas enters the contest as the substantial favorite with a moneyline of -175. The line for Florida sits at +155, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Earning moneyline bettors 0.4 units, Dallas is 27-21 straight up (SU) overall in the 2017-18 season. That early-season winning percentage is a huge turnaround from what the team did during last year’s regular season (34-48). Through 48 regular season matches, 27 of its games have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under and just one has pushed. This year, the team’s 16-7 SU at home.
The Stars have converted on 20.3 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 16th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 81.7 percent of all penalties.
The Stars, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.3 times per game overall this season, and 3.4 per game over their last five home outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays for 8.8 minutes per game over their last five matchups, overall.
Boasting a .917 save percentage and 25.9 saves per game, Ben Bishop (20-17-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Stars this year. If the Stars, however, decide to rest him, the team may roll with Kari Lehtonen (8-7-7 record, .914 save percentage, 2.42 goals against average).
John Klingberg and Jamie Benn will each lead the offensive attack for the Stars. Klingberg (46 points) has tallied six goals and 40 assists and has recorded multiple points in 11 different games this year. Benn has 19 goals and 27 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 31 games.
Over on the other bench, Florida is 19-26 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.2 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 24 of its outings have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and none have pushed. The Panthers are 8-16 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Panthers have converted on just 16.4 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that places them in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 17th overall and it’s successfully defended 80.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
Florida’s players have been penalized 4.2 times per game this season, and 3.3 per game over their last ten games. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
James Reimer (3.04 goals against average and .910 save percentage) has been the main option in goal for Florida. Reimer is averaging 28.5 saves per game and has 13 wins, 18 losses, and five OT losses to his credit.
Jonathan Huberdeau (16 goals, 30 assists) has been one of the most vital facilitators on offense for the visiting Panthers.
Florida Panthers vs. Dallas Stars Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Stars, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
Six of Dallas’ last ten games have been decided by two or more goals. The team is 5-1 overall in those games.
Extra-man opportunities could prove to be key in tonight’s game. The Panthers are 5-13 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 8-16 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Stars are 11-8 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 16-10 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
Dallas is 3-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Florida is 2-3 in shootouts.
Dallas might hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 10-7 in games decided by one goal, while Florida is 10-13 in such games.
The total has gone under in three of Dallas’ last five games.
Dallas has averaged 9.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 7.8 giveaways per game (ranked 7th overall).
Florida is ranked 27th this season with 11.9 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down recently, however, as it’s averaged 10.9 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.8 giveaways over its last five.
