New York Rangers vs Dallas Stars NHL Picks, Odds, Predictions 10/14/21

The Dallas Stars and New York Rangers meet Thursday in NHL action at the Madison Square Garden. The Dallas Stars look for a bounce back season after just 23 wins a year after making the Stanley Cup Final. The New York Rangers need a bounce back performance after losing their opener to the Capitals.

The Dallas Stars just couldn’t catch a break last season due to injuries and close losses. The Stars lost 14 games that needed extra periods to be decided and missed a playoff spot by just four points. You do the math. Getting a healthy duo of Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin should also do wonders for the Stars, as didn’t play a single game together last season. The good news is their absence allowed Jason Robertson the chance to produce 17 goals and 28 assists his rookie season. Denis Gurianov is also starting to come into his own, with 32 goals and 27 assists in his last 119 games played. The talent for the Stars is there, it’s just a matter of avoiding the injury bug and being on the right side of more close games. On paper, the Stars are a legit playoff team with the potential to do damage.

The New York Rangers are averaging one goal per game and are scoring on 20 percent of their power play opportunities. Chris Kreider leads New York with one goal, Ryan Strome has one assist, and Kaapo Kakko has five shots on goal. Defensively, the New York Rangers are allowing five goals per game and are killing 50 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Alexandar Georgiev has given up five goals on 27 shots.

The Stars are 2-5 in their last 7 road games and 2-6 in their last 8 overall. The Rangers are 7-2 in their last 9 games as a favorite and 1-5 in their last 6 overall. The over is 5-0 in Stars last 5 overall. The under is 9-3-1 in Rangers last 13 games playing on 0 days rest. The Stars are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.

We’re getting plus money with a Stars team that’s more talented and has won five of the last seven meetings against the Rangers. Yes, the Rangers have an edge of getting the opening game jitters out of the way, but they’re also being forced into a back-to-back contest before guys have a chance to get their feet under them. I’ll take the better team and the plus money, as you can usually win long term choosing that route.