- What: Minnesota Wild vs Dallas Stars
- When: Wednesday, January 10th
- Where: American Airlines Center
The Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars are back at it for the second time in three nights on Wednesday as they clash at the American Airlines Center. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 PM EST. These two met on Monday and Dallas walked away with a dominant 4-0 victory in Minny. To be honest, they're on opposite sides of the spectrum this season in the Central Division as well, with the Stars looking like a contender while the Wild are most certainly not. Below, we'll get more into that. Keep reading for the Wild vs Stars picks.
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Wild vs Stars Odds
| Team |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Wild | +170 | +163 | +165 |
| Dallas Stars | -191 | -190 | -195 |
By no surprise, the Stars are the favorite at -191 moneyline odds for an implied win probability of 65.64%. The Wild return at +170 and have a mere 37% chance of taking this one. The total is set at 6.5, but the under has been hit in four of the last five. Aside from the 4-0 win earlier in the week, Dallas also destroyed Minnesota 8-3 in November. In fact, it's four victories in the last five meetings for the Stars.
Tough Year For Minnesota
The Wild have made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons but lost in the first round. This time around, however, they're probably going to miss out altogether at this rate. Minnesota owns a poor 17-18-4 record, which puts them second-last in the Central Division ahead of only the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks. The Wild are struggling on both ends of the ice, ranking 24th in goals scored and 20th in goals allowed. Not much is going right.
Kirill Kaprizov has a team-best 36 points, but he just went on the IR with an upper-body injury that will keep him out for 1-2 weeks. Far from ideal for Minnesota. Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy are two others who are capable of producing though and they will need to step up in the absence of Kaprizov. The Wild are 5-5-0 in their last 10 contests and as previously mentioned, were blanked on Monday by Dallas.
Marc-Andre Fleury let in four goals and dropped to 7-9-2 on the season. He's allowing 3.32 GAA in 2023-24. Perhaps the worst part is the Stars scored twice shorthanded, which makes this loss sting even more for the Wild. They only managed 23 shots compared to 42 for Dallas and went 0 for 6 on the power play. We'll see if Minnesota can bounce back on Wednesday, but the team is 7-10-2 on the road. Not exactly great.
Stars Are Thriving
Dallas is having a fantastic season, sitting in third in the Central with a 23-11-5 record. By the looks of it, the Stars are definitely capable of making another deep playoff run. And while they have lost three in a row at home, Dallas is 6-3-1 in their last 10 contests. The win over the Wild snapped the three-game skid after falling to the Canadiens, Avalanche, and Predators, all by one goal apiece.
The name of the game for the Stars is offense. They're third in the NHL with 3.59 goals per contest. Dallas has six players with 30 or more points in 2023-24, which just goes to show how many weapons this team has. Jason Robertson leads the way with 14 goals and 26 assists, while Matt Duchene, Roope Hintz, and Joe Pavelski all have 35 points apiece, too. A deadly core of talent. Tyler Seguin, Hintz, Robertson, and Radek Faksa all found the back of the net vs Minnesota. In between the posts, Matt Murray made 23 saves in his Stars debut.
Dallas is only five points back of first place in the division and right on the heels of the Avalanche. Unlike most teams, the Stars actually play better on the road, going 11-4-3 compared to 12-7-2 at American Airlines Center. But, Wednesday is a chance to get back on track on home ice against a team they are undoubtedly superior to.
Wild vs Stars Picks
Minnesota is reeling and Dallas is simply dominant when they face the Wild. I'll take the Stars moneyline with confidence on Wednesday. They will get it done again.
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