Tuesday night brings a Frozen Frenzy to the NHL slate with the entire league in action across the evening. With so many games to choose from, we’re honing in on some of the top matchups of the schedule. An inter-conference clash at 8:30 p.m. EST pits the Dallas Stars against the Washington Capitals at American Airlines Center for a playoff-caliber contest.
Prepare for the action with a Capitals vs. Stars prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tuesday night.
Capitals vs. Stars prediction, preview
Washington Capitals
At 6-3-0 thus far, the Capitals are largely handling business. A goal differential of six remains fourth-best in the Eastern Conference and Washington averages an even 3.00 GF, though that mark should probably sit a little higher with 29.7 shots per game, ninth-most. The shooting percentage of just 10.1% sits 23rd, but regardless, the Capitals are getting the job done overall. Tom Wilson leads the team with 11 points followed closely by Dylan Strome’s 10 and Aliaksei Protas’ nine. Alex Ovechkin has just notched seven points with only two goals, but he’s still putting plenty of attempts on the net. However, the defense has become a strong suit with a league-best 2.33 GA per game thanks to a blue line punching above its weight and Vezina-caliber play from Logan Thompson between the pipes. Across six starts, the 28-year-old boasts a .938 SV% and 1.50 GAA, both top-two marks for any netminder with at least three games played.
Dallas Stars
On the other bench, the Stars have already experienced something of a roller coaster through their nine games. Dallas won three straight games to start the season before dropping three consecutive matchups and losing a fourth in overtime. Now, the team’s bounced back with a pair of comeback victories, but injuries have the lineup rather depleted. Key forwards Matt Duchene and Roope Hintz are sidelined, and further down the roster, captain Jamie Benn remains out along with defenseman Nils Lundkvist. The Stars also average an even 3.00 GF per game on 27.8 shots, and the power play looks quite strong. Top forwards Mikko Rantanen (11 PTS), Wyatt Johnston (10 PTS) and Jason Robertson (nine PTS) are clear leaders, and the blue liners have also contributed plenty with eight points from Thomas Harley and three-plus from three other defensemen. However, they’re not performing near Washington’s caliber on the other end — Dallas gives up 3.33 goals per contest and are middle-of-the-pack in shots against. Jake Oettinger draws the start tonight in net with a 2.98 GAA and .899 SV%.
Capitals vs. Stars pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Stars are favored at -130 to win on the Moneyline. The Capitals hold +110 odds to win outright on the road with a total of 5.5 goals.
The Stars probably have the edge when it comes to offensive talent in this game in the top six, but Hintz’s absence on the first line and Duchene’s on the third do create some problems here. Dallas will absolutely need contributions from its stars more than usual with those two sidelined, and with some AHL’ers moved up to soak up ice time, the bottom of the rotation could get very messy. It’s tough to trust them against a hot goalie like Thompson, who looks the part among the league’s best right now. To top it off, the Stars have played from behind more often than not lately and had to rally from down 2-0 in each of their last two wins. If they start slow again here, there may be some significant problems to deal with against such a strong defense.
Washington certainly has the upper hand on the blue line given some shaky defensive play from Dallas’ top blueliners recently (even despite their offensive contributions). This feels like it should be a close game, but it’s rather tough to pick a winner here. Instead of going to either side, I’m banking on another sluggish first period from the Stars and taking a 1-0 lead for the Capitals to head into the first intermission as a longer play here.
