The Dallas Stars will wrap up a three-game trip north of the border when they square off against Vancouver this Friday night at Rogers Arena. The game is scheduled for a 10 p.m. (ET) start, and it will be available on NHL Center Ice.

The Stars four-game winning streak came to an end this past Wednesday night with a 7-4 loss to Calgary as +127 road underdogs. They are now 7-6-1 and tied with the Blues for seventh place in the Western Conference with 15 points. The total has ended as a “push” in three of their last five road games.

Vancouver has reeled off six straight victories to vault to the top of the Northwest Division with 18 points, and it now has an overall record of 8-2-2. It is 5-1-1 at home this season, and the total has stayed “under” in seven of its last 10 games. The Canucks have not given up more than two goals in each of their last six games.

Stars at Canucks Betting Storylines

It is safe to say that Dallas has successfully climbed out of its early-season scoring slump with 17 goals in its last five games after averaging less than two goals a game in its first nine outings. The ageless one, Jaromir Jagr, has been a force with a team-high 11 points (four goals, seven assists). Overall, the Stars now have four different players with four goals this season.

Defensively, they are ranked 13th in the league in goals allowed in giving up an average of 2.6 goals a game. Dallas has been one of the better team against the power play with a kill rate of 82.8 percent. Kari Lehtonen has seen the majority of time in goal and comes into this matchup with a goals-against average of 2.17 and a .933 save percentage.

Vancouver is starting to put it all together and is playing like everyone expected it to as the odds-on-favorite to win the West this season. Offensively, the Sedin brothers are once again leading the way, with Daniel tallying three goals and seven assists for a team-high 10 points and Henrik chipping-in another eight assists. Zack Kassian continues to lead the team in goals with five.

The main reason for the current winning streak has been the play on the other end of the ice, most notably by the goalie tandem of Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider. The Canucks are allowing just 1.9 goals a game, which is ranked third in the NHL. Luongo has had the hotter hand of the two with a 1.45 GAA and save percentage of .943.

Stars at Canucks Betting Odds and Trends

BetOnline has opened the Stars as +173 road underdogs on the money line with Vancouver a -191 home favorite. The “over/under” line has been set at 5.

The Stars are 13-5 in their last 18 games against the Northwest Division but just 16-36 in their last 52 games against a team with a winning record.

The Canucks are 40-18 in their last 58 games playing on two day’s rest but just 1-4 in their last five games against the Pacific Division. The total has stayed under in five of their last six home games.

Dallas is 2-8 in the last 10 meetings and 1-6 in their last seven trips to Vancouver. The total has gone over in nine of the last 11 games between the two at Rogers Arena.

Stars at Canucks Picks and Betting Predictions

The Stars find themselves in a very difficult position heading into this matchup. They face a well-rested Vancouver team that has clearly returned to form on both ends of the ice over the past six games. While the Canucks are a prohibitively high risk on the money line, a small play on the puck line with them at +155 is the way to go in this one as they keep things rolling with a win that covers the 1.5-goal spread.

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Read more articles by Dave Schwab