Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Dallas Stars Prediction: Will This Be a Defensive Showdown?
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Dallas Stars Prediction: Will This Be a Defensive Showdown?
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Dallas Stars Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds
Date: Saturday, January 15
Game Time: 7:00 pm ET
Where to Watch: ESPN+
Puck Line: Lightning -1 (-118)
Click Here for Lightning vs Stars Odds
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Dallas Stars Prediction
The Stars will visit the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions today, and you should expect a lot more defense than offense tonight. In their last five games, the Stars have struggled to produce any offense on the road. Scoring just one goal last night against the Panthers and one against the Blues in the previous road game. This is a team that feeds off the home crowd for momentum, and when it's not there, it struggles to put the puck in the net. Lightning goalie Andrei Vaselivskys last five games, the Lightning have only given up 2 goals in contests when they have won (last year he beat them 6 times, and 3 of those wins were shutouts). Vasy averages a .92 save percentage and 2.18 goals against (5th in the league). His presence in net is a key reason why the Lightning have been winning by goal-line numbers (last four wins by 2,5,3,5 goals).
While lacking offense, the Stars, on the other hand, still have a phenomenal defense giving up only two goals the last three games prior (minus the last game against the high flying Panthers 7 goal outburst). Let's not forget Florida has only lost three times at home this year in 23 games. There is a reason you could only get Stars U5.5 -130 earlier in the season, and that's because it's a team full of veteran defenders, consistent goaltending, and poor offense (20th in goals per game). This game is looking to be the same way. Only we are given under six this time.
A point of concern is Antione Khudobin. Last night he let up seven goals against the Panthers, and they got over themselves (they are the #2 offense and #1 shots on goal offense for a reason). Khudobin is an experienced goaltender, and despite this poor performance, he has shone in other points of the season and will not want to be embarrassed like that again tonight. He has struggled with a .87 save percentage, but even that is not atrocious. As of right now, he is expected to start, but we wouldn't be surprised if Jake Oettinger would start this game instead (as of now, it's still Khudobin). Oettinger has risen as a top young goaltender averaging a .915 save percentage and 2.47 GA. This game contains aggressive defensive teams who play neutral zone traps (this usually leads to unders ). With this kind of scheme, games usually go under due to focusing on keeping the puck out of their zone and dumping. Lightning games have gone over because they have beat up on young teams. These are two teams containing veteran defenders and premium goaltending. Six is just too high for this situation, and we expect five goals max as the Stars are also 4-1 under with no rest this season.
Lightning vs. Stars Pick
- Under 6 (-115) (Bet $115 to Win $100)