Game 1 Collapse Leaves Stars Needing to Salvage Home Split vs Avalanche
Dallas Among Worst ATS Teams on Home Ice
When the Dallas Stars scored on three of their first nine shots, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference looked to be off and running against visiting Colorado on Tuesday. However, the 2022 Stanley Cup champions kept plugging away and stole Game 1 on the road thanks to the first playoff overtime goal by veteran forward Miles Wood. The NHL odds have the Stars favored at home yet again in Game 2.
Colorado has won seven of its last nine games against the Dallas Stars, including four of the last five on the road. Six of the last seven meetings finished over the total.

The Las Vegas NHL odds have the Dallas Stars at -130 to win Game 2 but at +200 to cover at -1½ on the puck line. The Avalanche is priced at +110 to win Game 2 outright and head back to Denver up 2-0 in the series.
The series odds have gone from +110 to -200 in favor of the Avalanche after the Game 1 victory.
According to the NHL playoff odds, the Colorado Avalanche is tied for third at +450 in the odds to win the Stanley Cup. The Stars are sixth at +750 in the championship odds.
Avalanche vs Stars Game Information
- Game: Avalanche (55-26-7, 22-17-6 on the road) at Stars (56-24-10, 28-13-5 at home)
- Date/Time: Thursday, May 9, 9:30 p.m. ET
- Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
- Avalanche vs Stars Live Stream: NHL.com
Avalanche vs Stars Odds and Spreads
Avalanche Stars Trump Stars
At this time of the year, your best players need to be your best players. That is especially true when opening a series on the road against the top-seeded team in the Western Conference.
Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar and Valeri Nichuskin combined for three goals, six assists and 13 of Colorado’s 26 shots on goal in the Game 1 victory to set the stage for Wood to win the game in overtime.
AVS FANS WHERE YOU AT?! 🔥
We want to see your best reactions to Miles Wood’s Game 1 overtime winner! #StanleyCup
Send em’ here ➡️ https://t.co/spRr6pVPsC pic.twitter.com/VxUPB5xaUM
— NHL (@NHL) May 8, 2024
This is not a new development as MacKinnon, Makar and Rantanen combined for six goals and 12 assists in the four games against Dallas during the regular season. Those numbers probably would have been even higher had Rantanen not missed one of those games.
Home Odds Not Favoring Dallas
Dallas began the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs by dropping the first two games at home to reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas. Now the Stars are down 0-1 heading into Game 2. Another loss would put the Stars in the position of having to win at least twice in Colorado to advance.
This is pretty dangerous territory as Dallas failed to win after taking a three-goal lead in the series opener. Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski were among the Dallas players who failed to record a shot in the Game 1 loss so more will be needed from the players who combined for 19 goals in last year’s playoffs.
Notable Betting Trends: ATS Woes for Stars as Home Favorite
Dallas is 9-3-1 outright in its last 13 games as the home favorite. However, the Stars have covered in just one of the last nine games when favored on home ice.
Colorado has won three of its last four games as the road underdog with three of those games being decided by one goal. Ten of the 13 games when Colorado was the underdog on the road, the contest went under the total.
Here are some numbers to consider for those who bet online:
- Dallas is 53-24-7 as the favorite.
- Colorado is 6-8-1 when listed as the underdog.
- The Avalanche have seen 29 of 45 road games land over the total.
- Dallas has had 26 home games go over the total but just two so far in this year’s playoffs.
- The Stars have covered in just 14 of 46 home games this season.
- Colorado is 21-24 against the puck line on the road.
- Eleven of Colorado’s last 13 games went over as have the last seven road games.
- The total went under in five of the last seven games for Dallas.
- Nine of the last 11 home games for the Stars went under the total.
Avalanche vs Stars Injury Update
Forward Joel Kiviranta is questionable for Colorado after missing the series opener while Jonathan Drouin, Gabriel Landeskog and Logan O’Connor are out.
For Dallas, winger Mason Marchment and defenseman Jani Hakanpaa are out.
What to Look for in Game 2: Special Teams Thrive for Avs
While 6½ totals are a common occurrence during the regular season, that is not the case once the Stanley Cup Playoffs get going. It is especially rare in a series featuring teams from the same division so both goalies might be a little busier than they were in the series opener.
Colorado has won its last five games and the 2022 title run proved that this can be a hard team to stop once the Avalanche get going so this feels like a must-win scenario for the Stars.
The teams were a combined 3-for-6 on the power play in Game 1. Neither team has been very successful in the penalty-killing department but Colorado is second in the NHL on the power play in the playoffs. So if the Stars want to avoid going down 0-2 at home for the second series in a row, limiting the man-advantage chances for the Avalanche would be a nice place to start.
Avalanche vs Stars Prediction
Questions of the Day
Which team has a better record against the puck line this season going into Game 2 of the series between the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars?
The Avalanche is 47-41 against the puck line while Dallas is 37-53 ATS.
What are good player prop options for Game 2 of the Avalanche-Stars series?
Take a look at the high-scoring defensemen with Colorado’s Cale Makar and Miro Heiskanen both approaching 30 minutes of ice time in the series opener.