The Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars played in a marathon of a Game 1, needing a second overtime period before the Wild finally notched the game winning goal.
Now, just 48 hours later, will face-off in Game 2 back in Dallas. The Stars will try to even up the series before it turns to Minnesota. Holding a 2-0 series advantage ahead of two home games would be a huge leg up for the Wild.
The odds for Game 2 are similar to what they were for Game 1. Let’s dive into them.
Wild vs. Stars odds, puck line, and total
Wild vs. Stars prediction and pick
The Stars largely outplayed the Wild in Game 1 so I see no reason to not bet on them to even the series tonight.
If you look at the advanced analytic called “expected goals,” the Stars outgained the Wild in that stat, 4.63-3.48.
The Stars also had the second highest CORSI% amongst all Game 1s in the NHL playoffs at 57.58%. Of course, the difference maker in the game was stellar play between the pipes by Filip Gustavsson, who stopped 51 of 53 shots on net by the Stars.
That’s not enough to convince me to back the Wild tonight, as Jake Oettinger had almost as good of a night for the Stars, stopping 45 of 48 shots.
At the end of the day, there was nothing that happened in the first game that surprised me. Just because I believe the Stars are the better team, doesn’t mean the Wild aren’t good enough to sneak out a couple of wins in this series.
I’m sticking to the path and backing the Stars tonight once again.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
