Wild vs Stars Odds & Betting: Dallas Aims To Solidify Wild-Card Position

The Dallas Stars (42-27-4) continue their playoff push Thursday as they entertain the Minnesota Wild (45-21-6) in the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the two Central Division foes. The two teams have combined for 29 goals in three previous high-scoring matchups, which might be a factor worth considering in making any Wild vs Stars picks.

Wild vs Stars Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds

The Wild opened as -101 road underdogs but early support for Minnesota has swung the odds in favor of the visitors, who are now the -110 favorites following a dominant win over the Oilers on Tuesday. The host Stars are available at +107, presenting a nice value play in the Wild vs Stars prediction given Dallas’ excellent record at home.

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Minnesota Looking To Make It Three In A Row

Kevin Fiala and Ryan Hartman tallied twice each and Cam Talbot stopped 27 of 28 shots Tuesday as the Wild trounced Edmonton 5-1 to win their second straight on home ice.

Minnesota has gone 7-1-2 in its last 10 games and is tied for second place in the Central with St. Louis while holding a game in hand on the Blues. The high-scoring Wild, who average 3.65 goals per game to rank fourth in the NHL, will now play two in a row on the road, where they are 19-14-4 on the season.

Since goaltender Marc-André Fleury was acquired at the trade deadline, the Wild have alternated assignments between Fleury and Talbot. However, since the latter allowed just one goal against Edmonton’s high-powered offense, it’ll be interesting to see if the Wild coaching staff decides to give him his second consecutive start.

Maximizing Home Points Vital For Dallas

So far, so good for the Stars, who opened up a three-game homestand by blanking the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 on Tuesday. Roope Hintz notched the winning goal in the third period and Scott Wedgewood earned the shutout by turning aside 25 shots.

The Stars, who are 23-10-2 at American Airlines Center, continue to hold down the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, trailing Nashville by one point and leading Vegas by three with a game in hand on the Golden Knights.

Like Minnesota, Dallas could have an interesting goaltending decision to make. Jake Oettinger has played well as the starter for the majority of the season but Wedgewood stymied the Lightning last time out and is now 3-0-1 since coming over from Phoenix.

Whoever is between the pipes will have to keep a close eye on Kirill Kaprizov. The star Minnesota forward has piled up nine points in the three meetings this season vs Dallas, which could influence the Wild vs Stars prediction.

Wild vs Stars Pick & Insights

Wild: Keys To Victory

The Wild are one of the highest-scoring teams in the league and will have no fear facing a hot goaltender as they’re capable of producing goals in bunches. They’ll want to dictate a fast-paced game and not allow Dallas to turn it into a slow defensive matchup.

Stars: Keys To Victory

To fall on the right side of the Wild vs Stars pick, Dallas must play a patient game and wait for the time to strike against a Wild squad that’s susceptible at the back end. Minnesota tends to take a lot of penalties and has the 26th-rated penalty-killing unit in the league, which could present another advantage to the Stars.

Odds Shark’s Computer Wild vs Stars Prediction: Wild -120

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