The Dallas Stars will take a trip to Bridgestone Arena this Monday night for the first meeting this season with the Nashville Predators. This Western Conference clash is scheduled for an 8 p.m. (ET) start, and the game will be broadcast nationally on the NBC Sports Network.

The Stars come into this contest fresh off Saturday’s 3-1 victory over San Jose as +105 home underdog. This followed three losses in their previous four outings in which the total went “over” in all four games. Dallas is now 9-8-1 and tied for seventh place in the West with a total of 19 points.

Nashville is holding down the fifth place in the conference with 21 points as a result of an overall record of 8-6-5. It has lost four of its last five games, including a 4-0 shutout against Detroit this past Saturday as a +103 underdog on the road. The total has stayed “under” in seven of its last 10 games.

Stars at Predators Betting Storylines

Injuries are staring to pile up for Dallas after defensemen Trevor Daley and Aaron Rome were put on the injured reserve list. Earlier this month, goalie Kari Lehtonen went down with a strained groin. And while he remains questionable for Monday night, look for Cristopher Nilstorp to get the start after looking sharp the other day against the Sharks. In four games this season, he has posted a goals-against-average of 2.60 and a .913 save percentage.

Offensively, the Stars leader in points continues to be 40-year old forward Jaromir Jagr with five goals and eight assists. Both Jamie Benn and Michael Ryder have tallied six goals, and the team as a whole is averaging 2.6 goals, which is ranked 18th in the NHL. Dallas has struggled on the power play this season in converting on just 16.7 percent of its chances. This is also ranked 18th in the league.

Nashville has fallen into a major scoring slump during its recent slide with a five goals in its last five games. Overall, the Predators have had trouble finding the back of the net all season long with an average of just 1.9 goals a game, which is ranked dead last in the NHL. Their leading goal scorer is Colin Wilson with five. He also leads the team in assists with nine. Left winger Gabriel Bourque is the only other player with more than three goals this year with four.

Fortunately for Nashville fans, this is still one of the top defensive teams in the league with a GAA of 2.1 and a power play kill rate of 84.4 percent. Pekka Rinne has been fantastic between the pipes with a 1.77 GAA and a save percentage of .931. He has recorded three previous shutouts this season.

Stars at Predators NHL Betting Odds and Trends

At BookMaker, the Predators are listed as a -165 favorite with the visiting Stars listed at +145. The total is at five.

The Stars are 4-1 in their last five games on the road but 0-4 in their last four games against the Central Division. The total has stayed under in eight of their last 11 games against teams in this division.

The Predators are 5-1 in their last six games against the Pacific Division and 8-2 in their last 10 games after losing by three or more goals in their previous outing. The total has stayed under in 11 of their last 16 home games.

The home team in this series is 32-15-1 in the last 48 meetings, and the total has gone 3-1-3 in the last seven games. Nashville has won three of the previous five games between the two.

Stars at Predators Picks and Betting Predictions

Nashville is the solid play in this matchup. It has shown the ability to rebound well from a bad loss, and that will once again be the case on Monday night at home.

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