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Two Stanley Cup-hopeful teams face off as the Dallas Stars face the Florida Panthers. It is time to continue our NHL odd series with a Stars-Panthers prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Stars enter the game sitting at 14-6-3 on the year but are also coming off a loss. Last time out, they played the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nikita Kucherov scored the first goal of the game and then assisted on a second to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead. After no goals in the second, they would score two more in the third. Andrei Vasilevskiy saved all 25 shots from the Dallas Stars, and the Lightning would win 4-0.
Meanwhile, the Panthers come into the game at 14-8-2 on the year. They faced the Islanders the last time out. In that game, the Islanders scored first on an Anders Lee power play goal, but Sam Reinhart would tie it up before the end of the period. The Islanders would get two more in the second, while Matthew Tkachuk would score to make it 3-2. The two teams traded goals in the first ten minutes of the third, but the Panthers could not muster a fourth goal and would fall 4-3.
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Stars-Panthers Odds
Dallas Stars: -102
Florida Panthers: -118
Over: 6.5 (+108)
Under: 6.5 (-132)
How to Watch Stars vs. Panthers
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
TV: TNT
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Stars Will Win
Joe Pavelski leads the team in both goals and points this year, coming into the game with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points. Meanwhile, he has been solid on the power play, with five goals and two assists. Jason Robertson follows right behind him, tied for third on the team in goal, sitting second on the team in points, and leading the team in assists. He comes into the game with eight goals but has 14 assists for his 24 points. Meanwhile, he has three goals and five assists on the power play.
Tied with Robertson in goals is Rooper Hintz and Tyler Seguin. They both come into the game with eight goals on the year. Hintz has 12 assists, placing him third on the team with 20 points. Meanwhile, Seguin has nine assists to place him with 17 points. Second on the team in goals is Wyatt Johnston, who is one goal ahead of Robertson, Hintz, and Seguin, coming in with nine goals on the year. Adding in his eight assists, he has 17 points on the year. The Stars also get some help from the blue line this year. Miro Hesikanen has not scored a lot, with just one goal, but he comes in with 13 assists, which ties him for second on the team.
This year, the Stars sit seventh in the NHL in goals scored per game this year, with 3.39 per game. They are 12th on the power play this year, with a 22.1 percent conversion rate with 15 goals this year. The Stars have been great when man down this year though. They are second in the NHL with an 88.8 percent success rate on the penalty kill this year.
Jake Ottinger will be tending the twice in this one. He is 10-5-2 on the year with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. Both of those are top 15 marks in the NHL. Still, two of his last four outings have been struggles. In two of the games, Ottinger has given up a total of ten goals, while in the other two, he gave up a combined one.
Why The Panthers Will Win
The Panthers are not the highest-scoring team in the NHL, sitting 20th in the league with 3.00 goals per game. They have been led by Sam Reinhart this year. He leads the team in goals and points while sitting third on the team in assists. He comes into the game with 16 goals and 13 assists on the year for his 29 points. Meanwhile, Reinhart has been great on the power play. He has scored seven times with two assists this year when man-up. Second on the team in points, this year is Aleksander Barkov. He comes into the game with seven goals and 15 assists on the year, giving him 22 points. He is tied for the team lead in assists this year, and has six of them on the power play.
Barkov is tied with Matthew Tkachuk. He comes into the game with four goals and 15 assists on the year, giving him 19 points. Joining him in dishing the puck well is Evan Rodrigues, who has 12 assists this year, plus three goals for 16 points. Carter Verhaeghe has also been solid this year. He comes into the game second on the team in goals with 11, plus nine assists, giving him 20 points on the year.
Florida has not been great on the power play this year, sitting 24th in the NHL in conversion rate at 17.5 percent, while having just 14 power-play goals. They have been better when man down though, having a success rate of 81.7 percent and sitting 11th in the NHL.
Sergei Bobrovsky will be in goal tonight for the Panthers. He is 11-6-1 on the year with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. He has been solid in his last three games. In those games, he has allowed just three goals on 72 shots, good for a .958 save percentage. November was been solid for Bobrovsky overall, as he has a .918 save percentage with two shutouts and a 2.11 goals against average.
Final Stars-Panthers Prediction & Pick
These are two of the best teams in the NHL so far this year. The Panthers are good at creating scoring chances and moving the puck quickly. That is something the Stars can have trouble with. Still, the Stars score plenty of goals in their own right. Overall, Bobrovsky has been the better goaltender as of late, but this should be a good battle between two top quality goalies. Overall, the Panthers are more consistent in most areas of the game, while Dallas has a lot of highlights and a lot of areas they need to improve. The Panthers are great at exploiting weaknesses and that will be the difference in this one.
Final Stars-Panthers Prediction & Pick: Panthers ML (-118)
