The Phoenix Coyotes may be hoping that the second month of the year turns out better than the first. Phoenix limped through January with a 5-10 record and fell to the ninth spot in the Western Conference playoff race. The team, however, will begin February with six home games during its first nine matchups of the month. Phoenix already locked up an impressive victory over Pittsburgh and will be hoping to turn that solid performance into an extended winning streak.

The Dallas Stars might not be in playoff contention at the moment, but if the team continues to play the way it did on Saturday things might quickly turn around. Dallas is coming off a huge shutout victory over the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks. And to make things even more impressive, Dallas earned the win while playing on the road in the first of a three-game trip away from the American Airlines Center. The Stars will now head to Phoenix to face the Coyotes on Tuesday night in the first of a home-and-home situation over the next four days. Let’s take a closer look at the matchup with predictions and analysis.

Stars at Coyotes Betting Story Lines

Phoenix has two more games left in a five game homestand that started at the end of January with a win against the Los Angeles Kings. The team then split games against the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, but not in the order that most fans might have expected. Phoenix dropped a disappointing game against the Sabres last Thursday in which the squad took a whopping 40 shot attempts—to Buffalo’s 28—and was only able to score two goals on the night.

The Coyotes, however, rebounded well with a two-goal victory over the Penguins two days later. Goaltender Mike Smith held the top team in the East to one goal on only 24 shots and put on his best performance in nearly three weeks of hockey. Smith has given up 16 goals during his last five outings with three losses in that span. Phoenix decided to stick with the goaltender during his rocky month and may be hoping that Saturday’s win was enough to turn things around heading into February.

Dallas earned its biggest win of the season during its last outing against the Ducks and rebounded quite well after starting out 2014 losing nine of its first 10 games. The team has since won four of six, with impressive victories over Pittsburgh, Toronto and Anaheim in the process. Starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen struggled during his last two starts, allowing seven goals on 25 shot attempts, which came on the heels of a dominating three-game stretch where the veteran allowed only one goal and produced two shutouts.

The Stars will play one more home game before the NHL takes an extended break for the Olympic Games and will try to take advantage of its excellent play to close out its three-game road trip on a high note. Dallas’ point’s leader, Tyler Seguin, continues to be a lightning rod on offense for Dallas and logged his ninth point in five games in the team’s last game against the Ducks.

Stars at Coyotes NHL Betting Odds and Key Trends

Phoenix opened as a -147 moneyline favorite over the +134 underdog Stars at BetOnline. The total was set at 5.5 goals, with the “under” being favored at -116. Phoenix is 9-2 in its last 11 Tuesday games and 8-2 over its last 10 games played on two days of rest. The squad, however, is only 1-4 against the Central Division in its recent matchups and 1-7 over its last eight games following a win. Phoenix has gone “over” in four of its last six home games.

Dallas is 4-0 in its recent matchups against the Pacific Division and 4-0 over its last four Tuesday games. The team is only 5-11 during its last 16 overall games and 1-5 in its last six road games. Dallas has lost seven of its last eight games against teams with losing records and has gone under in four of its last five road games. Head-to-head, Dallas is 0-4 during the last four games in Phoenix.

Free NHL Picks: Stars at Coyotes Picks

Dallas has played well over the last month and is being led by the excellent play of Seguin. Staring goaltender Lehtonen played brilliant during a three-game stretch last week and has all the talent to repeat that success in the coming games. Phoenix has dropped four of its last seven matchups and continues to play listless hockey. There is excellent value on taking the underdog Stars to pull of an upset on Tuesday night. Take Dallas and the positive moneyline.

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Read more articles by George Monroy