Dallas Stars vs New York Rangers: the Stars to beat the New York club for the 2nd time this season

In the first game of the season, Dallas defeated the Rangers in overtime, 3-2. Will Gerard Gallant's team be able to get revenge in the upcoming meeting? Our prediction: the Stars will once again be closer to success!

Dallas appears determined to salvage a season that has not gone well for them. A couple of months ago, it seemed like the Stars were already out of playoff contention, but they have been able to improve, so now they have a good chance to fight for the Stanley Cup. In the last 13 matches, Rick Bowness's players were able to get nine wins against four losses, which can be considered a very decent result. Such a powerful breakthrough allowed the team from Texas to climb to number eight in the Western Conference standings, but the teams are six points from sixth to twelfth place there, so all the fight is still ahead.

The Rangers had a very good regular season and only a nasty miracle will prevent them from making the playoffs. It is already obvious that this season has been successful for the club, because only a year earlier before they had no cup ambitions. Now the Blues have shown good results, although they occasionally have weak streaks. For example, in the last two games, Gerard Galland's players lost to Minnesota and St. Louis — 2-5 and 2-6, respectively, but the New York club often plays poorly against teams from the West. Now the Rangers sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, but they have a serious head start on the playoffs.

The teams have played 145 face-offs in the NHL regular seasons. The Stars have 47 wins, while the Rangers were victorious 76 times, plus 22 matches ended in a draw. The goal difference is also on the side of the New York club, 492-411. The rivals have met once this season, and it was Dallas who won this encounter, 3-2.

Dallas holds the current regular championship slightly worse than the Rangers, but the Stars are approaching the upcoming match in a better state than the opponent. Rick Bowness's team has won nine of their last 13 games, while the Blues have won only three of their previous seven contests. Moreover, the New York club has had serious problems in games against teams from the Western Conference this season, so now they will face a very tough battle, where they will not be the favorites. As a result, we should bet on Dallas's win in the match with odds of about 1.80.

Dallas and the Rangers are not the most high-scoring teams in the league, but they still produce bright and spectacular matches quite often, their matches seeing total over goals scored. At least that's what the stats show: the Stars have scored 328 goals (5.86 average per game) in 56 games, while the Rangers have scored 323 goals (5.57 average per game) in 58 games. We expect their face-off to be rich in goals, so you should consider betting on Total Over (5.5) at odds close to 1.95.

Tyler Seguin is a forward who has got us used to him scoring around 70 points every regular season. Unfortunately, his scoring output has been on the decline over the past couple of years, and that's because of a serious injury that caused him to miss nearly all of last season. Nevertheless, he is now a consistent player for the Stars, with 31 points (17 goals + 14 assists) in 55 games played. Gradually, the Canadian is approaching his former level, so it is worth betting on his Total Over (0.5) for about 3.10.