The Minnesota Wild and Dallas are two of the top teams in the Western Conference, and they’ll be facing off in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Central division was interesting to follow during the regular season, with multiple teams leading the pack at different parts of the season. Dallas and Minnesota ultimately finished second and third in the division, which led to them colliding in this opening-round matchup. Minnesota Wild (+122) vs. Dallas Stars (-146)
Dallas Stars
For a large portion of the regular season, the Dallas Stars found themselves leading the Central division. That didn’t end up transpiring after the 82-game mark, but they did end the year on a six-game win streak, leading to a second-place finish with 108 points. Dallas was a surprise team in last season’s playoffs when they took the Calgary Flames to seven games in the opening round, and thus we’d be silly to discount them this time, especially when they appear more potent as a unit. With Jake Oettinger in net, Dallas will be in every game for as long as they last in the postseason. He had a coming-out party in their series against the Flames last year, and with the Wild being a team that struggles to score, many signs point to him being the difference here.
Minnesota Wild
It wasn’t as though we expected the Minnesota Wild to underperform or take a step back this year, but we didn’t see them being the third team in the Central division to eclipse the 100-point mark. The Wild have a superstar on offense in Kirill Kaprizov, while there hasn’t been a lean one way or another for which goalie will start Game 1. Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson present stellar options, meaning if it goes sideways for one of them, there’s a competent backup sitting right there. The Wild are a solid defensive team, but their offensive struggles could end their season early.
Verdict
The Dallas Stars are essentially a more well-oiled version of the Minnesota Wild. The series is difficult to handicap as a result, and it’s one of the tighter first-round matchups to keep an eye on. Minnesota is a team that loves to hang around, and they’ve continued to be a squad that sticks around the playoff conversation but has a difficult time making noise in them. There’s good reason why the series is projected to be a close one, but Dallas can play Minnesota’s brand of hockey and do it just a bit better than them. As a result, there are two bets we really like in this matchup. One, the Dallas Stars to defeat the Minnesota Wild in six games. Two, for Jason Roberston to lead the series in scoring.
Best Bets: Dallas Stars to Win Series 4-2 (+470), Jason Robertson to Lead Series in Scoring (+460)
All Odds Courtesy of the FanDuel Sportsbook
