Dallas Stars - Minnesota Wild predictions and free betting tips [11/01/2024]

The Dallas Stars are set to host the Minnesota Wild for the second time in a row as part of the NHL regular season.

Dallas Stars

On Tuesday, the Dallas Stars celebrated a victory over Minnesota with a score of 4:0, thanks to an impressive performance by newcomer Matt Murray, who made 23 saves in his fourth NHL match. This was a crucial moment for the team, considering recent unstable performances by goaltender Wedgewood and hopes for the soon return of lead goaltender Jake Oettinger, who has been out since 15 December due to a lower-body injury. Moreover, the team's top defender, Miro Heiskanen, is also in the recovery stages after a knee injury.
Dallas' special team, ranking fourth in the NHL with 85.7%, plays a significant role in the team's success this season. Coach Pete DeBoer noted that the goaltender is a key player in penalty killing, with players like Rup Hints, Tyler Seguin, and Sam Steel bolstering the team's attacking potential. Russian forward Evgeny Dadonov has tallied 8 goals and 8 assists in 36 games, while Hints, Matt Duchene and Joe Pavelski are also making significant contributions to the team's attack. Team leader Jason Robertson continues to maintain a stable performance with 12 goals and 26 assists. The return of Minnesota's main forward Mats Zuccarello after missing 9 matches due to an upper-body injury also had an impact, with him contributing one assist in the winning match and accumulating 16 points in the last 16 matches.

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild suffered a loss to Dallas on Tuesday with a score of 0:4, including the concession of two shorthanded goals. The team also failed to capitalise on any of their six attempts in majority, losing five of their last six games. This continues the inconsistency of the Wild who had previously broken a losing streak of four by defeating Columbus in overtime 4:3, only to lose again. Defeats to Tampa, Calgary and two defeats to Winnipeg underline the team's difficulties. Injuries to top scorer Kirill Kaprizov, main goalie Filip Gustavsson and experienced Marcus Foligno have hit the squad hard. However, Minnesota have won eight out of their last 14 games since the change of coach. In the victory against the Blue Jackets, Boldy stood out with two goals and an assist, Faber with two assists and Zuccarello with an assist after returning from injury. Kaprizov continues to lead the team points with 34, including 13 goals.

Minnesota's defender Brock Faber emphasised the need to improve the team's performance in future games. The last five games Wild were without Kaprizov, Gustavsson and defender Jared Spurgeon due to injuries, and none of them returned for the game against Dallas.

Minnesota's goaltending position is expected to change, as Marc-Andre Fleury is preparing for a potential second place in NHL history for wins. After his 551st win over Columbus, tying Patrick Roy, Fleury is aiming to surpass Martin Brodeur. Now having recently celebrated his 1000th NHL game, Fleury is likely to play Dallas twice in a row, though he has little chance of surpassing Brodeur.

Head-to-Head

The Stars have captured 5 wins in their last 6 head-to-head encounters. In their last match 2 days ago, Dallas secured a win away from home with a score of 4:0. On 13 November 2023, Dallas earned a convincing victory with a score of 8:3. However, in October of the same year, Minnesota dominated, winning with a score of 4:0. In September 2023, Dallas convincingly won with a score of 6:1. The preceding match on 29 April 2023 also ended in Dallas' favour with a result of 4:1.

Match prediction for Dallas Stars - Minnesota Wild

In the first two meetings in the current season, Dallas routed the opponent with a total score of 12:3, with the play of special teams being the main factor, where the Stars completely outclassed the opponent. Dallas converted an astounding 6 attempts out of 10 when in majority, whereas Minnesota could only convert 1 out of 11, while conceding 4 shorthanded goals - a disheartening statistic. I'm putting my money on a home victory for Dallas.