Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild NHL Picks & Predictions 12/22/2018

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Xcel Energy Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Dallas Stars head to Xcel Energy Center to take on the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, December 22, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Stars at +133 and the Wild at -175.

Dallas has a record of 17-15-3 this year. They are 4th in the Central Division. They've tallied 96 goals and surrendered 98 goals for a point differential of -2. For the year they have an ATS mark of 17-17-0 and an over/under record of 12-18-0. Minnesota has a record of 17-15-2 this season. They are 5th in the Central Division. They have scored 102 goals and given up 97 for a goal differential of +5. Their record against the spread is 17-16-0 while their over/under mark is 15-14-0.

Valuable Dallas Stars Betting Trends

The Dallas Stars are 17-17-0 straight up this year

The Dallas Stars are 12-18-0 against the over/under this season

Important Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 17-16-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 15-14-0 against the over/under this season

Key Dallas Stars Injuries

12/20/18 C Jason Spezza Illness is questionable Saturday vs Minnesota
11/19/18 D Marc Methot Lower Body IR (11/19)
11/09/18 D John Klingberg Upper Body IR (11/09)
11/02/18 D Connor Carrick Foot IR (11/02)
10/03/18 D Stephen Johns Head IR (10/03)

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

12/17/18 D Matt Dumba Upper Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Tyler Seguin has scored 32 total points this year for the Stars. He has 11 goals this season with 138 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 21 assists on the year and averages 20.9 minutes played per contest. Jamie Benn averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by tallying 14 goals on 87 attempts. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the year. Ben Bishop has 11 wins and 9 losses this season in goal for the Stars. He has 633 shots against him and he's surrendered 50 goals. He's made 583 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Zach Parise has 29 total points this season for the Wild. He has 15 goals this year with 94 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 14 assists on the year and averages 18.3 minutes played per contest. Jason Zucker averages 17.1 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 9 goals on 94 attempts. He has 10 assists, giving him a total of 19 points on the year. Devan Dubnyk has 12 wins and 12 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 781 shots against him and he's given up 68 goals. He's made 713 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Stars have 37 total points this year, which is 19th in the NHL. They've scored 96 goals while giving up 98 scores, which has them ranked 26th and 24th respectively. They have had 91 power play chances and scored 19 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That is 15th in the league. The Stars have given up 107 power play opportunities and surrendered 19 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking them 10th when short-handed. They average 30 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.24% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 9th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild are 20th in the league with a total of 36 points this season. They have 25 power play goals on 105 chances for a percentage of 24%. That is 9th in the NHL. They've given up 101 power play opportunities and surrendered 14 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 86%, ranking 2nd overall. As a team, the Wild are 19th with a total of 102 goals scored while they've given up 97 goals this season, ranking 27th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.46%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 14th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Dallas is 25th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47%, as they've attempted 1,828 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,062 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47.5% as they have 1,384 attempts while they have given up 1,528 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 25th in the league. The Stars start possessions in the offensive zone 46.3% of the time, which is 30th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 53.7% for the season. That is 2nd overall in the NHL. They have 1,086 face-off wins compared to 1,015 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.7%. That ranks them 8th in the league. On defense Dallas has 787 hits and they have blocked 534 shots from the opposition, putting them 5th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Wild are 16th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season, which is 18th in the NHL. They have 1,063 face-off wins compared to 1,016 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.1%. That is 11th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 643 hits and they have blocked 520 shots from the opposition, which is 8th in the league. Minnesota is 19th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.3% as they've attempted 1,904 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,955 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.3% ranks 15th as they have 1,450 attempts while they have given up 1,435 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Stars/Wild NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Minnesota -175

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