NFL
By Jesse Rosales
In a battle of Central Division rivals, the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars are two teams that have a lot to prove. The Wild were left for dead once elite forward Kirill Kaprioz went down with a major injury. The Stars meanwhile were leading the Central Division for most of the season until they were finally caught and passed by the Colorado Avalanche on the last game of the season.
Let’s see how both of these teams stack up against each other.
Minnesota Wild Season Review
The best news coming out of Minnesota is that Kaprizov is looking like a go for game #1 against Dallas. It will, however, be interesting to see how he blends back into the lineup. Before going down with the injury, the Wild had a problem scoring enough goals to stay competitive against most other teams. When he went down, everyone was wondering where the scoring was going to come from. The answer was, from everybody.
The Minnesota Wild went on a tear from mid-Feb through the end of March. Going 16-1-3 in that time span. They have only won 2 out of their past 7 games however and coming up against a Dallas team that has one of the best goaltenders in the league. Will Kirill “The Thrill” be able to provide the offensive pressure they will need against Dallas? Or will they go back to their low-efficiency offensive numbers that they carried before he became injured?
Dallas Stars Season Review
For the longest time, the Dallas Stars appeared to be the favorites to win the Central Division. Heck they went 8-2-0 in their final 10 games. You can’t really ask for much more than that. Unfortunately one of those losses was against the Colorado Avalanche, which proved to be the difference maker in the division.
There’s no doubt that Dallas has been one of the hottest teams in the NHL at multiple points in the season. In large part, due to the play of rising superstar Jason Robertson and the rock-solid play from their goaltending tandem in Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood. Robertson ended the season with 46 goals and 109 total points. For comparison, last season he had 41 goals but only 79 points in 8 fewer games.
The goaltender tandem is arguably one of the best in the league and gives the 2 goalies in Boston a run for their money. Oettinger ended the season with a goals-against average of 2.37 and a save percentage of .919. Wedgewood was almost as good although only across 21 total games played.
Stanley Cup Playoff Rd 1 Prediction
I give Dallas the obvious edge in goaltending. Nothing against Marc-Andre Fleury, but he cannot be relied upon in the same way he used to be. Filip Gustavsson is a solid #2 and in many eyes, deserves to be the #1 over Fleury, despite the difference in experience. This series will come down to who has the most efficient offense. Throughout the season, that has been Dallas.
The Stars are -150 favorites in Vegas to win the series. I like that number at face value as I think the series will go back and forth but I do think Dallas will win. The total number of games market provides a little value with the series going 6 games, at +175 odds and 7 games coming in at +210 odds. I’m taking the Dallas Stars in 7 games.
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