Visiting Dallas Is Favored To Make It Four Straight Wins Vs Washington
The Stars Vs Capitals NHL Odds Favors Visiting Dallas to Take Down Struggling Washington
Washington Will Be Without Three Veteran Forwards in Thursday’s Showdown
Dallas is right back on the ice after falling to Florida on Wednesday when the Stars face a Washington Capitals team that has scored the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference. The Stars at Capitals NHL odds favor the visiting Stars.
Dallas suffered its third regulation loss on the road despite outshooting the Panthers and only having to kill off one power play. Seven of Washington’s 12 wins this season have come at home.
When making NHL picks, remember that Dallas is priced at -140 to snap a two-game losing streak.
If the NHL playoffs started today, Dallas would be the No. 2 seed in the Central Division, with Washington missing the postseason.
Dallas has been pretty fortunate in the injury department, with its top 14 scorers having combined to miss a total of 10 games.
Forward Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Max Pacioretty are all out for Washington, leaving the Capitals without hockey players who have combined to score 888 regular-season goals. There is a chance Oshie could return this weekend.
A quick peek at the NHL odds shows that Dallas is tied for fifth at +1000 in the odds of winning the Stanley Cup with Washington well back at +10000 in the championship odds.
Stars vs Capitals 
Day/Time:
Location: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Streaming: ESPN, ESPN+
Young Defenseman Coming Through For Dallas
Miro Heiskanen is the Dallas defenseman who draws the most attention for good reason, but another former first-round pick in hitting his stride.
Thomas Harley is tied for the team lead with two goals and four points in three games in December.
Harley has two multi-point games in his last three contests. After managing one goal and five assists in 40 games in his first two NHL seasons, he already has six goals and four assists in 21 games this season. Keep that in mind when looking at the Stars at Capitals NHL odds.
Harley is tied for third among NHL defensemen with his six goals. The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in eight of the last 11 games played by Dallas.
Capitals Coming Up Empty
The Washington Capitals were third in the NHL in power-play percentage during the 2020-21 season, scoring on 24.8% of its power plays.
Things have gone downhill from there as the Capitals. Washington has drawn the fewest number of power plays and is last in the NHL with five power-play goals. That could factor into the Stars at Capitals NHL odds.
Alexander Ovechkin, who has more power-play goals than any player in NHL history, has just one goal with the man advantage this NHL season with Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome tied for the team lead with two power-play goals.
Washington is just 2 for 35 on the power play at home this season. Not having Oshie, Backstrom and Pacioretty might be playing a role in the power-play struggles, but those numbers are still rather frightening.
The total has gone under in 11 of the last 16 games for Washington.
Last Meeting
Dallas won both meetings last season, with the Stars outscoring the Capitals 4-1 in the two hockey games. The last time these NHL teams met, Washington outshot Dallas 46-26 but lost the game 2-1.
Ten of the last 14 games between Stars and Capitals have been decided by one goal, with the previous five games between the teams finishing under the total.
Roope Hintz led the Stars with two assists in the two games against Washington last season. The only goal scored by the Capitals in the two games was by Conor Sheary and he now plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Stars vs Capitals Betting Preview
Both teams have plenty of experience, with four of the top eight scorers for Dallas over the age of 30, while the top two scorers for Washington are 33-year-old defenseman John Carlson and 38-year-old Alexander Ovechkin.
Ovechkin is a 13-time 40-goal scorer, but he is on pace for just 19 goals this season.
Washington has won just one of its last 11 home games against Dallas.
The total has gone under in eight of Washington’s last 10 games against Western Conference teams. The total is set at six goals for this matchup.
Dallas is 2-0 on the back end of back-to-back games, with the Stars scoring 12 goals in wins over Edmonton and Minnesota.
These are two of the worst teams against the spread this season, with Dallas covering against the NHL betting lines in only nine of 24 games and Washington going 8-14 against the spread. Dallas has covered in six of 13 road games, while the Capitals are 4-8 against the spread on home ice.
Just three of Washington’s first 12 home games have finished over the total, while six of the 13 road contests for Dallas ended up going over the total.
Even though Dallas has dropped the first two games of a three-game road trip, look for the Stars to bounce back and pick up their ninth road win of the season.
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