The St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars played in the Western Conference semifinals last year, and their series ran seven games, as the Blues escaped with a win and then went all the way to hoist the Stanley Cup at the end of the playoffs. The two Central Division rivals find themselves neck and neck once again, as St. Louis leads Dallas by just two points in the division standings, with 78 points in 61 games. Dallas has 76 points in 60 games, holding a game in hand. The two meet once again in Dallas on Friday night; Dallas could move into a tie for the division lead or could fall four points behind. Which will it be? Don’t miss our sports betting preview of this divisional showdown. Let’s see how the NHL odds will be for the Blues vs Stars.
Blues vs Stars 2020 NHL Game Preview & Betting Odds
- When: Friday, February 21, 2020, 8:30 pm ET
- Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
- TV: ESPN+
- Radio: ESPN 101.1 FM St. Louis / KTCK 1310 AM Dallas
- Live Stream: ESPN+
- NHL Odds: Dallas -124 / St. Louis +102 / O/U 5.5
Why should you bet on St. Louis?
The Blues are just 3-5-2 over their last ten games but have won two in a row, rolling over New Jersey, 3-0, on Tuesday and then blanking the Coyotes on Thursday, 1-0. Both of those wins came at home as the Blues had a short homestand before heading back out on the road. Posting consecutive shutouts shows a new commitment to defense; in their slump, the Blues had been turning the puck over too often, leaving netminder Jordan Binnington hanging in the wind.
In their win over Arizona, Binnington only faced 14 shots. He was in net for both of the Blues wins after giving up three or more goals in eight consecutive starts. He is only the tenth goalie in NHL history to post 50 wins in 77 or fewer contests. The Blues put 46 shots on the Coyotes’ goal, and while Antti Raanta stopped 45 of them, the constant pressure from St. Louis overwhelmed him — and kept the Coyotes from generating much offense. The Blues did not break through until eight minutes left in the third, on a shot that clanked in off the post, but they sustained pressure afterwards to get the win.
Why should you put your money on Dallas?
Dallas has won three of their last four, picking up wins in two of their three Eastern Canada stops. They won in Toronto and Montreal but then lost at Ottawa in overtime on Sunday. They rebounded with a home win over Arizona on Wednesday, prevailing 3-2 and moving into a brief lead in the Central before St. Louis posted their twin shutouts.
In Dallas’ win over Arizona, the game was tied until Jamie Oleksiak scored the game-winner for the Stars with 8:22 left in the third period. In his career, Oleksiak has just 17 goals in 304 games, but three of those goals have been game-winning scores. Ben Bishop had 39 saves for Dallas, including 21 in the first period, when the Coyotes had all kinds of pressure. Dallas went 2 for 2 on the power play, giving them 11 power play scores in the last nine contests. The Stars got Alexander Radulov (upper body injury) back after a three-game absence, and he assisted on the game-winner. Can the Stars polish off the Blues at home? Or will their inconsistency catch up with them?
Final Score Prediction
I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t bet on the Stars in NHL action. I get a sense of how the team is going, but that sense almost never pays off for me. Maybe it’s my status as a hometown fan — I tend to overrate them at times, and then when they lose, I underrate them more than I should and they overperform. The numbers indicate that you should take Dallas because they are hotter and are playing at home, but those two shutouts the Blues have posted, putting up terrific pressure in both games, are a warning sign to me. I predict a final score of St. Louis 2, Dallas 1.
