A busy Monday night in the NHL includes an East vs West matchup as the Pittsburgh Penguins play host to the Dallas Stars. Welcome back to NHL predictions here on Last Word on Hockey! Each day, we examine the leagues upcoming games to provide analysis and look at head-to-head matchups. Today’s article features Sidney Crosby and his struggling Pittsburgh Penguins vs Jason Robertson and the star-studded Dallas Stars. Be sure to check out all of our NHL predictions for the NHL’s games.
NHL Predictions
Dallas Stars vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Head-to-Head: Stars 0-0 Penguins
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST); 6:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST)
TV: ESPN+; TVAS; SportsNet+
The NHL season is in full swing. The Dallas Stars hold an 8-5 record, sitting third in the Central Division. Meanwhile, the Penguins limp into this matchup with a 6-8-2 record, with five Eastern Conference teams ahead of them in the wildcard race. Although these teams are in very different positions, this matchup promises to have a lot of important for either franchise.
The Penguins’ Story
Pittsburgh has shown small moments of brilliance, and the vision General Manager Kyle Dubas has for this team. The team’s bottom six has been an overwhelming highlight. Following years with a lack of depth scoring, this year’s Penguins are loaded up with capable bottom six players led by Lars Eller and Kevin Hayes. The two-headed monster of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin continue to battle father-time, with 18 and 16 points in 16 games respectively. While Erik Karlsson has done well offensively with 10 points in 16 games, his play; along with the rest of the defensive group, has been a major letdown. With a -16 goal differential, their offensive weapons have been incapable of outscoring their defensive issues.
To add to the Penguin’s question marks, the organization is back to having three goaltenders on the NHL roster. Following a 4-1 record and a .926 save percentage, Tristan Jarry is back in the NHL. His place on the roster presents question marks. Back-up Alex Nedeljkovic has lost his last couple of games. However, his one-way contract makes it hard for the organization to risk losing him to waivers. This leaves Joel Blomqvist. Moving him down may not be the best move for the team however, as the rookie has gone 3-4 with a .913 save percentage here in his first NHL season. These stats are significantly better than either one of Nedeljkovic or Jarry’s thus far. With his return to the NHL roster, expect Tristan Jarry to factor into this game.
The Stars’ Story
Dallas has been relatively slow to start compared to their own standards. Having led the West with a 52-21-9 record last season, their 8-5 record is a paltry start for this organization. A large factor in this is the lack of early production from stars Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnson. Robertson has only scored seven points in 13 games, Johnston with 6 in 13. Their 0.54 and 0.46 P/GP marks are down from last season’s 0.98 and 0.79 respectively. Meanwhile. Forwards like Matt Duchene and Logan Stankoven are off to strong starts, with 15 and 12 points in 13 games each. A significant strength of the Stars roster is their overwhelming offensive depth. As long as just some of these aforementioned players have good games against the Penguins, it could be enough to overwhelm a weak defence.
The goaltending situation of the Stars is far different than the Penguins. Former Penguin Casey DeSmith is finding success as the backup, with a 2-2 record and a .929 save percentage. However, Jake Oettinger is the crown jewel of the defensive part of the Stars roster. The 25-year-old has recorded a 6-3 record and a .910 save percentage early this season. Oettinger is in a special class of goaltenders capable of stealing entire stretches of games, especially behind a rugged Stars defence. He will likely start against the Penguins
Prediction
The Pittsburgh Penguins are experts at jumping off to quick starts before giving up the lead. However, the Stars’ overwhelming depth severely outmatches the Penguins. With the team still struggling with holding leads, a top-tier team like Dallas likely takes advantage.
Prediction: Stars win 3-1.
Prop Bets of the Night
The Penguins have failed to score more than two goals on Dallas in their last six encounters. Assuming this continues, I would recommend FanDuel’s’ 60-minute correct score of Dallas Stars 3-1, with a +2300.
Main Photo: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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