Ottawa Senators (19-15-2) vs. Dallas Stars (22-13-1)
January 2, 2025 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Dallas Stars -217 / Ottawa Senators +173; Over/Under: 6.5
(Get latest betting odds)
In this article, we will formulate a Dallas Stars vs Ottawa Senators Prediction for this NHL game on Thursday, January 2nd at the American Airlines Center. Let’s take a look at a Dallas Stars vs Ottawa Senators Pick.
The home team has won the last four games played between the two teams. This is the first meeting of this season though. Last February it was the Senators that were able to secure the 4-1 victory.
Stars Look for Third Straight Win
The Stars all of a sudden have confidence and they have won two games in a row. Two games ago against the Chicago Blackhawks, they picked up the 5-1 victory and in the last game against the Buffalo Sabres they ended up picking up the 4-2 victory. The Stars scored three goals in the third period and that was enough for the victory. Jason Robertson had a strong game scoring a goal and adding an assist. Casey DeSmith was in goal and saved 21 of the 23 shots that he faced. The Stars offense has all kinds of confidence and they are going to need to try and keep that going here.
The Stars are averaging 3.19 goals while their defense is giving up 2.53 goals per game. The offense is ranked 11th in the league while the defense is ranked 3rd. The Stars’ defense doesn’t always get talked about about a ton, but it is the real strength of this team. They are also averaging 31.03 shots per game which is 3rd best in all the NHL. Matt Duchene has scored 14 goals and added 19 assists so far this season. Tyler Seguin is still working his way back from a hip injury and isn’t expected back until early May.
Can Senators Win Their Second Straight Game?
The Senators have played pretty well this season and they are coming off a victory in the last game. The Senators faced off against the Minnesota Wild and the defense was lights out giving up only a goal and they ended up winning two goals. Leevi Merilainen saved 30 of the 31 shots that he faced. He was impressive, but the defense needs to try and limit the amount of shots that he faces. Ridley Greig had a strong game and he scored a goal and finished with three shots on goal.
The Senators on the season are averaging 3.06 goals while their defense is giving up 2.83 goals per game. The offense is ranked 15th in the league while the defense is ranked 11th. They are averaging 30.4 shots per game which is 6th best in the league. They have a shot differential of 2.89 which is 6th best in the league. Tim Stutzle has scored 12 goals and added 28 assists so far this season. Linus Ullmark is dealing with an upper body and he’s questionable for this game.
Dallas Stars vs Ottawa Senators Prediction
This total is too high. Both of these teams have better defenses than they have offenses and even though neither of these offenses are bad, they are both going to really struggle to get anything going here. The Stars defense is giving up only 2.53 goals per game and they are going to really step up here. The Stars offense is also going to really struggle to get anything going against the Ottawa Senators. Both teams are going to struggle to get three goals and this game is going to stay under. Back the under to cash.
