Minnesota Wild vs Dallas Stars Prediction, 12/20/2021 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs Dallas Stars

Date: Monday, December 20, 2021

Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX

TV: Bally Sports Southwest

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (+107) Stars (-118)

Braden Holtby and the Dallas Stars (14-12-2) play the Minnesota Wild (19-8-2) at American Airlines Center on Monday. The Wild open this matchup at +107 while the Stars are priced at -118. The O/U is set at 5.5.

The Minnesota Wild will need a bounce back game after taking a 3-2 defeat against the Sabres in their last game. Minnesota accrued 4 mins in the box in this game. The Wild left a lot to be desired in terms of their offense in the defeat. Additionally, they had 2 power play tries but didn't net one. In the outing, they tallied a score on 2 of the 32 shots they launched.

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The Wild have had 929 shots attempted against them and have a save percentage of .911. While at even strength, the Wild have allowed the opponent to score 64 goals while notching 89 themselves. Minnesota Wild opponents have totaled 102 power play opportunities (2nd in pro hockey) and have scored 19 goals in those attempts. For the season, they have accumulated 40 points and their points percentage is sitting at .690. Minnesota has attempted 963 shots and has a shooting percentage of 10.9%. In relation to their goal scoring prowess, the Minnesota Wild have notched 105 goals (3rd in pro hockey) this year and have given up 83. Minnesota has accounted for 94 power play chances and they have notched 16 goals during those chances, garnering them a rate of 17.02%.

The man in goal for this game is Cam Talbot. Opponents have racked up 922 goals against Talbot in his NHL career and his average for goals against per game is 2.61. Talbot has taken the ice for 369 contests over the course of his professional hockey career. His save percentage is .915 for his 21,182 mins played. He has accumulated an overall record of 184-136-31 and he has gotten the start in 355 games. For his professional hockey career, Talbot has tallied 189 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .532. Talbot has had 10,909 shots taken against him and has accrued 9,987 saves.

In their last contest, Dallas played the Blackhawks in a game where the Stars ended up with the win by a score of 4-3. They had 8 opportunities on the power play in this game and notched 3 goals out of those chances. The Stars netted 4 goals out of the 39 shots on goal they took.

So far this year, the Dallas Stars have notched a total of 74 goals, 30 points, in addition to a points percentage of .536. They have allowed 80 goals to be scored by of a combination of 63 goals at even strength and 17 goals while they were shorthanded. The Stars have tallied 52 goals at even strength and 22 goals (8th in hockey) while on the power play. They have recorded 82 opportunities on the power play and they have earned a power play percentage of 26.83%. Dallas has taken 837 shots (27th in hockey) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 8.84%, while allowing the other team 859 shots. They have earned a penalty kill rate of 80.00% on their opponents 85 power play opportunities, and their save percentage is currently 90.7%.

For the opposition you will find Braden Holtby protecting the net. Holtby has a career mark of 294-140-50 and has played in 504 games. Holtby's quality start rate is 57.2% and he has made 282 quality starting assignments in his career. He is sitting with 13,374 saves out of the 14,618 shots attempted against him, giving him a percentage of .915. Teams are averaging 2.58 goals per game and he has relinquished 1,244 goals altogether. He has started in 493 games and has played for a total of 28,925 minutes.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Minnesota (+107)

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