Stars Looking Up at Playoff Berth
The Dallas Stars aren’t far removed from a run to the Stanley Cup final, but if the season ended today, they would not be among the eight teams from the Western Conference to qualify for the postseason. While a losing record on the road has contributed to the Stars’ predicament, picking up a win at home against Nashville would be a step in the right direction.
Nashville is the closest competitor to Stanley Cup favorite Colorado in the Central Division standings while Dallas is in fifth place and currently out of playoff position.
The Predators have the eighth-best points percentage in road games, going 14-7-4 away from home, while Dallas has the ninth-best points percentage in home games.
Nashville (+2800) has the 15th-best odds to win the Stanley Cup championship while Dallas is even further back at +5000.
Nashville’s Roman Josi (+1000) is the No. 4 choice in current Norris Trophy odds as the NHL’s best defenseman. Miro Heiskanen come in at +4000.
Nashville Predators at Dallas Stars
- Game: Nashville Predators (28-14-4) at Dallas Stars (23-18-2)
- Location: American Airlines Arena
- Day/Time: Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET
- Television: TNT
Nashville’s Jeannot Surprise of Rookie Class
Before the season began, the list of candidates for the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is given to the top rookie, was headlined by Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras and the Detroit duo of Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.
However, no rookie has scored more goals than Nashville’s Tanner Jeannot. The undrafted player has put himself in the conversation for the award that is typically dominated by first-round picks. The top three point producers in the rookie class were all selected in the first round of 2019 or 2020 NHL drafts.
Jeannot is third on Nashville with 14 goals after scoring 22 in 107 AHL games. Jeannot is also fifth among all NHL forwards and first among rookies with 151 hits. While some rookies might struggle to keep up with the scoring pace when they break into the league, that has not been the case.
Jeannot’s numbers continue to trend in a positive direction as he has six goals and three assists in 14 games in 2022. The most impressive part of Jeannot’s 14 goals is that he is 12th among Nashville forwards in power-play time, as he averages just 19 seconds per contest on the man advantage. Jeannot (+1000) has the fifth-best odds to win the Calder Trophy.
Nashville has lost its last three road games when the NHL betting lines list the Predators as the underdog.
Seguin Starting to Regain Scoring Touch
Tyler Seguin was a bit of a forgotten piece of the puzzle for the Dallas Stars when he failed to record a point in his first four games by the end of October. He had just three points in eight October games and by the end of November, Seguin and fellow veteran forward Jamie Benn were tied for sixth on Dallas with nine points each.
Seguin has picked up with the pace with nine goals and five assists in his last 23 games. With the continued production by Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz, as well as Joe Pavelski proving at age 37 that he has plenty left in the tank, Dallas has stayed in contention for a playoff spot.
Dallas holds down the 10th spot in the Western Conference and is four points back of eighth-place Calgary.
Seguin, who was limited to three games last season, is looking to return to the form when he averaged 34 goals over a six-season span.
Dallas’ Tyler Seguin had two goals and an assist and Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists in the Stars’ 6-1 win over the Bruins. https://t.co/zzx006tD3m
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) January 31, 2022
Dallas is 8-3-1 when Seguin has at least one goal so he’ll need to keep producing for a team that has five players with at least 11 goals, but relied on those five players for 72 percent of its goal scoring from its forwards.
The total set by the Las Vegas odds has gone over in four of the last five Dallas home games. .
Predators at Stars Head to Head
Nashville won the first meeting between the Central Division rivals 4-2 behind a goal and an assist from Jeannot and 25 saves from Juuse Saros.
Visiting Nashville paid +130 while a Colton Sessions goal with 43 seconds left pushed the game over the 5½-goal total.
The Predators have won the last three meetings in the series and six of the last seven, and also emerged victorious the last three times playing in Dallas.
Predators at Stars prediction
Four of the last five games between Nashville and Dallas finished with a combined total of five goals or less and this game could head in that direction as well.
Three of the last seven games have been won by the visiting team, including the only meeting between the division rivals this season.
Six of the last eight matchups were decided by one goal so for those who bet online, don’t be surprised by another tight one, although it can be hard to know what to expect in the first game coming off a break.
