The Dallas Stars may be missing their top defenseman in Miro Heiskanen and their leading goalscorer in Jason Robertson, but they showed no lack of heart during a thrilling overtime win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. Heading into Game 3 of this first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series, these two teams remain knotted at 1-1.
Ahead of the 9:30 p.m. EST puck drop for tonight’s Avalanche vs. Stars matchup, here’s a prediction and best bet for the high-stakes contest.
Avalanche vs. Stars prediction, pick
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Avalanche are -192 Moneyline favorites to win Game 3 at home. They’re -1.5 on the puck line with +136 odds to cover. On the flip side, the Stars come in at +160 underdogs on the Moneyline and -162 to cover the +1.5 spread.
This is one of the toughest games to predict of the playoffs so far. The Avalanche look like the better team overall given their clean bill of health, and not only do they return home to the altitude of Ball Arena tonight, but they’re set for an emotionally charged contest. Their captain, Gabriel Landeskog, hasn’t played since June of 2022 as he rehabs an injury. However, head coach Jared Bednar says there’s a “good chance” the Avs’ captain makes his long-awaited return on home ice tonight. This is a huge development in the series from a motivation perspective, even if Landeskog comes out a bit rusty.
On the other hand, the Stars aren’t lacking motivation, themselves after finally snapping an eight-game losing streak with their overtime victory in Game 2. The shift in the team’s energy is palpable, and there’s a good chance they more closely resemble the high-scoring version of themselves from earlier in the season after finally shedding the bad juju of their cold stretch.
Betting the outcome of this contest feels nearly impossible since it should be such a close contest. In all likelihood this one is probably decided by one goal, and the -162 odds on the Stars’ +1.5 puck line aren’t spectacular.
With that said, Nathan MacKinnon’s goalscorer prop is probably one of the best bets to consider tonight. He’s a top talent in this league and already has three goals in two games. At +120 odds, he’s worth taking a chance on to light the red light once again in this Avalanche vs. Stars Game 3.
