The best of the West will take on the worst as the Dallas Stars battle it out with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. Join us for our NHL odds series where our Stars-Sharks prediction and pick will be revealed.
Finding themselves in the midst of an all-out battle with the Colorado Avalanche for first place in the Central Division, there's no doubt that the Stars need every single win they can get down the stretch of the regular season. At the moment, Dallas is tied with the Avalanche with 97 total points. Last time out, it was the Stars that defeated the Arizona Coyotes in the desert by a score of 4-2.
On the other side of things, the Sharks have been about as dreadful as one can imagine on their way to a 16-46-8 record. To make matters worse, San Jose hasn't been able to find much success at home, sporting a 10-20-4 record. Despite the season being all but lost, the Sharks could desperately use a victory to earn some pride in the closing stages of the regular season. Shockingly enough, the Sharks have won just once since Feb. 17th and have lost seven games in a row.
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Stars-Sharks Odds
Dallas Stars: -1.5 (-164)
Moneyline: -430
San Jose Sharks: +1.5 (+136)
Moneyline: +330
Over: 6.5 (-108)
Under: 6.5 (-114)
How to watch Stars vs. Sharks
Time: 10:30 ET/7:30 PT
TV: ESPN+
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why Stars will win and cover spread
Not only are the Stars facing off with the worst team in the National Hockey League, but they are also playing for that much more. Simply put, the time is now for them to make a serious push at grabbing the top in the Western Conference. In order for this to come true, Dallas must avoid coming out flat on Tuesday. With nothing to lose, it wouldn't come as a shock to see the Sharks play relentlessly despite their losing ways. Furthermore, the Stars will be without their hectic home-ice advantage which has served them well many times during the season. At the end of the day, San Jose has nothing to lose, and Dallas needs to be wary of that.
Above all else, the, most important aspect of the game Dallas will need to control is its ferocious offensive attack. The dynamic duo of Matt Duchene and Tyler Penguin recently accounted for a goal and two assists in a victory over the Arizona Coyotes. There are very few skaters in the league as explosive and dangerous as these two, leaving the Sharks with their hands full defensively.
In addition, Dallas is also capable of making noise on the extra-man attack. So far this year, the Stars are connecting on 23% of their power-play opportunities, which ranks top-10 in the league.
Why Sharks will win and cover spread
Let's cut to the chase. There is no denying the Sharks are a terrible team. A win against one of the best teams in the West will prove to be no easy task, but even a broken clock is accurate twice a day.
The first order of business the Sharks will need to conduct is finding better goaltending play. While it is likely that Mackenzie Blackwood is back in net for this one after it was Devin Cooley who started last time out, the former has struggled of late en route to giving up four goals in two of his last three starts. If San Jose cannot receive consistency in the crease, then they will struggle to knock Dallas off in upset fashion.
Plus, the Sharks have struggled holding leads all season long. Against the Chicago Blackhawks, they found themselves with a four-goal load before Chicago rallied with four goals of their own in the contest's last 36 minutes. Clearly, this is not a recipe for stringing together wins, and San Jose will need to put their foot down once and for all if they have a lead in this game.
Final Stars-Sharks Prediction & Pick
While the Stars have won both matchups this season, they've been nail biters to say the least. Even if San Jose comes up short of the win column, don't sleep on the Sharks to make things close for a majority of the contest! Regardless, count on the Stars to pull away late.
Click here for more betting news and predictions
Final Stars-Sharks Prediction & Pick: Stars -1.5 (-164)
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