Dallas vs Montreal: The Stars will easily take on the East's top underdog

Dallas have beaten Montreal in the last two straight head-to-head meetings. Will Dominique Ducharme's men be able to beat such an uncomfortable opponent now? We predict that the Stars will get a comfortable win!

Dallas are having another very tough regular season, risking flying past the playoffs again. Since the start of the season, the Stars have been experiencing serious playing problems, and their only real improvement came in November and December when they managed to win nine of their ten games. Alas, they were unable to continue their success. With time and again, the Texans began to falter, and their most recent trip to the American South was a disaster as they lost to Florida and Tampa Bay 1-7 and 1-3. This setback leaves the Black and Green in 11th place in the Western Conference standings, so Rick Bowness needs to improve his performance to avoid going into the cup battles without his men.

Montreal once again demonstrates just how great their typical NHL unpredictability is. In the summer of 2021, the Canadiens were battling in the Stanley Cup final series, but now they are hopeless underdogs in the tournament, producing a terrible season. The Red and Blue have failed to score a single point in their first five regular-season games, which is a sign of their problems. They did catch up, but they lost 13 more times in their last 14 meetings, sinking themselves into the cellar of the Eastern Conference standings. The day before, they battled a similar underdog in the West, but even there, they failed to pick up any points, losing 2-5.

Dallas have historically played hard against Montreal, winning only 38 of 137 face-offs (27%), which is abysmal, but they are slowly trying to improve their stats. In the last two ties, the Stars were stronger, and they are still the clear favorites. Alas, the Canadiens can't offer any real opposition at the moment, having lost 13 of their last 14 games. As a result, we'd have to bet on Dallas winning with a handicap (-1.5) for 2.10.

Denis Gurianov is having another very decent season for Dallas. He's not quite as good as he was in the playoffs in 2020, but he has 14 points (6 goals + 8 assists) in 31 games in the current regular season. The Russian hockey player missed the last All-Star games because he was on the covid list, but now he should be back, gaining his strength. Moreover, when the 24-year-old took to the ice in their last meeting, he scored against Pittsburgh, so Denis Gurianov Total Over 0.5 points for 3.48 seems to be the best option now.

Dallas and Montreal are weak in the current regular season, experiencing serious problems with the defense, so in a head-to-head battle, they have every chance to show themselves in the attack, which looks relatively good. In terms of statistics, the Stars have scored 205 goals (5.86 goals per game average) in 35 games, while the Canadiens have produced 214 goals (5.78 goals per game average) in 37 games. A bet on Total Over 5.5 pucks for 1.95 is worth considering in such a situation.