The Dallas Stars (30-19-5) travel to Enterprise Center to take on the St. Louis Blues (32-15-8) Saturday in a Central Division clash. We analyze the Stars-Blues odds and lines, while providing NHL betting picks and tips around this matchup.
Stars at Blues: Projected starting goalies
Anton Khudobin vs. Jordan Binnington
Khudobin was solid in a win against the New York Rangers Monday in his first start back from the All-Star break. The 33-year-old owns a 2.34 goals against average and .927 save percentage through 18 starts and three relief appearances. In even-strength hockey, Khudobin has registered a sparkling .941 SV%. The Blues don’t generate a ton of power-play chances, but they are effective when they get them.
Binnington owns a 2.65 GAA and .910 SV% across 39 games. The second-year NHL’er has fallen off after a hot start to the season. Binnington has logged a mere .880 SV% over his last 12 games. He is, however, at his best when between the pipes at Enterprise Center. Binnington has posted a 2.27 GAA and .919 SV% at home.
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Stars at Blues: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Prediction
St. Louis 4, Dallas 3
Moneyline (ML)
The Stars (+125) are the lean. The analytic underpinning the Stars’ 2.7 goals per game is predictive of better days ahead. Maybe those days have already started, as Dallas has come out of a much-needed bye week averaging 3.4 GPG.
The pricing here makes the play a no-go. AVOID.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
A Stars team which is 16-11 against the puck line on the road is the lean here. Again, the price has to be right. With the defending Stanley Cup champion Blues at home, perhaps the DALLAS +1.5 (-189) line heads toward something more in range of a profitable -175. A -180 tag would suffice.
Over/Under (O/U)
A familiar refrain with this game — which usually means it’s priced correctly: the OVER 5.5 (+105) is a lean but only at a better price. Wait this one out and see if it doesn’t follow some early market action and get closer to +115.
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