Two Western Conference powerhouses face off in their season openers Thursday night as the Ducks fly east to Dallas to take on the Stars. This is the matchup I had predicted for last year’s conference final but both teams stumbled in early rounds. If all goes to plan this season, the Ducks and Stars will be playing plenty of hockey against each other this year.
- The Ducks are 6-2 in their last 8 games against the Stars.
- The total has gone OVER in 3 of the Ducks' last 4 games as underdogs against the Stars.
- The Stars are 8-1 in their last 9 games in October.
Anaheim got off to a brutal start last year, Sportsbook the 2015-16 campaign with a league-worst 1-7-2 record in October. They will be looking to get quacking right out of the gate with Randy Carlyle back at the head coaching helm and can get the ball rolling tonight with an underdog win against the Stars.
John Gibson and Antti Niemi are expected to get the start for their respective teams so I’m going to go ahead and give the check mark to the Ducks in the goaltending category. Gibson has paid his dues as the Ducks' No. 2 and is now the unquestioned starter with Frederik Andersen getting shipped to Toronto. He posted a stingy 2.07 goals-against average last season in 38 starts and is one of my favorite value picks to win the Vezina this year.
Niemi, on the other hand, posted a .905 save percentage and 2.67 goals-against average last year and is no spring chicken at the age of 33.
If the Stars are to compete this year, they will have to score barrels of goals and I don’t think that’s something they will be able to do tonight against a Ducks team that allowed the third-fewest shots per 60 minutes in the NHL last year.
It could be a cloudy night for Star watchers – the Ducks should roll on the moneyline but you may want to play it safe with the +1.5 puckline here.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
Sportsbooks such as Sportsbook had the Dallas Stars as 124 moneyline favorites in this particular NHL betting matchup earlier. The over under total, meanwhile, was set early at 5.5 before betting started to move the line at Sportsbook.
Odds Shark score prediction models pick a 3.8-1.4 result in favor of the Ducks today. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming NHL matchups here.
Anaheim Ducks vs Dallas Stars Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
0-0-0 Dallas battles the Ducks, currently with a 0-0-0 mark. The OVER/UNDER records, important for totals bettors, are 51-39-5 for the Stars and 33-37-19 for the Ducks. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Dallas vs Anaheim injuries news.
This game puts the Dallas Stars, most recently No. 3 in the Odds Shark NHL Power Rankings, up against the Anaheim Ducks, who rate a No. 7 in the latest survey.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The Ducks were a 2-1 loser in their most recent outing at home against the Predators. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got Nashville at +149 on the moneyline, while the total score (3) was good news for OVER bettors.
Last time out for Dallas, they were a 6-1 loser as they battled the Blues at home. Moneyline bettors who got the Blues at -107 were rewarded, while the 7 combined goals moved the game OVER for totals bettors.
- Anaheim is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- Anaheim is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 7 games on the road
- Anaheim is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Dallas
- Dallas is 2-10 ATS in its last 12 games
- Dallas is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games
- Dallas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- Dallas is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Next Betting Matchups
Anaheim at Pittsburgh, Saturday, October 15th
Dallas at Colorado, Saturday, October 15th
