Minnesota Wild vs Dallas Stars Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/20/2026

Game Time: 9:30 pm ET, Monday, April 20, 2026

Venue:  American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX 

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Wild +114, Stars -135; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Wild +115, Stars -135; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Wild +115, Stars -135; Over/Under:  6 goals

Minnesota Wild:  46-24-12 (3rd place, Central Division)

Dallas Stars:  50-20-12 (2nd place, Central Division)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Harry Gagnon is on a HOT STREAK in the NHL on a 17-10 NHL RUN for +$7,030 PROFIT! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Minnesota Wild:  6-4-0 last 10

Dallas Stars:  6-3-1 last 10

The Wild are entering the playoffs with 104 points, a 46-24-12 record overall, and they were 23-14-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Dallas Stars in their last game, winning that one on the road 6-1. Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy each led the team in goals scored with 2 while Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Mats Zuccarello led the team in assists with 3 while Matt Boldy led the team in shots on net in that game with 8. Jesper Wallstedt was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 28 shots with 27 saves and a .964 save percentage. Their offense has scored 272 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 240 goals against them allowing 2.9 goals per game.

The Stars are entering the playoffs with 112 points, a 50-20-12 record overall, and they were 26-11-4 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Minnesota Wild in their last game, losing that one at home 6-1. Jason Robertson scored 1 goal for them in that one. Miro Heiskanen and Wyatt Johnston each led the team in assists with 1 while Jason Robertson led the team in shots on net in that game with 6. Jake Oettinger was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 5 goals on 28 shots with 23 saves and a .821 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 279 goals this season averaging 3.4 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 226 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Stars listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Stars have looked great in their games this season with their 50-20-12 record overall which had them right near the top of their division in the West with one of the best records in the entire NHL. They have looked great on home ice too with their 26-11-4 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Wild have looked really good in their games this season with their 46-24-12 record overall which had them in the top half of their division in the West. They have been a good road team too with their 23-14-4 road record this year. This is game 2 of a 7-game series between the 2nd seeded Stars and the 3rd seeded Wild in the Central for the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. The Wild are entering this game with a 1-0 series lead after winning game 1 by a score of 6-1. These two have been two of the best teams in the NHL all season and the Stars ended up edging the Wild out for home advantage in this series, but the Wild changed that in game 1. The Wild really came to play as they were all over the Stars for 60 minutes and completely suffocated their offense. The Stars haven't been bad against the Wild this season though and they were hot entering this series too. That was an embarrassing loss to take on home ice, but the Stars are going to have an answer in this one and will bring their best effort to make sure they don't go to Minnesota down 2-0 in the series. This was always going to be a back-and-forth series between two of the best in the NHL, so look for the Stars to even up this series with the home advantage. The best way to place a bet here is on the Stars to win this game. 

Wild Stars Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Monday, April 20, 2026 (9:30 pm ET start time) is Stars 2 Wild 1.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Minnesota Wild Dallas Stars prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NHL predictions and previews.

Minnesota Wild: 13-13 (-7.3 units) on the moneyline against poor offensive teams - averaging 26.5 shots on goal per game or less. 53-69 (-7.8 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a winning record. 98-90 (-5.1 units) on the moneyline against poor power play killing teams - opp score on over 17.5% of chances. 23-12 OVER when playing against a team with a winning record. 14-7 OVER as a road underdog of +100 to +200. 

Dallas Stars: 171-112 (+11.3 units) on the moneyline in all games. 87-46 (+10.3 units) on the moneyline as a home favorite. 66-44 (+10.4 units) on the moneyline revenging a loss versus opponent as a favorite. 11-6 OVER revenging a home blowout loss vs opponent of 3 goals or more. 16-8 OVER against poor defensive teams - 29 shots on goal or more, convert 17% pp or more. 

Minnesota Wild:  None.

Dallas Stars:  R. Hintz (C) Out - Lower Body. N. Bastian (RW) Out - Hand. T. Seguin (C) Out For Season - ACL.

“I think throughout the lineup tonight we came in and the guys were focused. The thing I like is when we came in, I thought that we executed well. When it was time to check, we checked well. But I just thought we had the right mindset in how we need to play. And that was throughout the lines.” - John Hynes after his team’s win against the Stars in the 1st game of this series on Saturday.

“I don’t even know what the record was coming into it. The first period was tight, they executed on the power play. But we couldn’t get our game going at all in the second. I thought that they certainly, to a man, were better than us.” - Glen Gulutzan after his team’s loss against the Wild in game 1 of this series on Saturday. 

LW Kirill Kaprizov

C Ryan Hartman

RW Mats Zuccarello

LD Quinn Hughes

RD Brock Faber

G Jesper Wallstedt

LW Sam Steel

C Wyatt Johnston

RW Mikko Rantanen

LD Esa Lindell

RD Miro Heiskanen

G Jake Oettinger

Points: Kirill Kaprizov (89)

Goals: Kirill Kaprizov (45)

Assists: Quinn Hughes (48)

GAA: Jesper Wallstedt (2.61)

Points: Jason Robertson (96)

Goals: Jason Robertson (45)

Assists: Mikko Rantanen (55)

GAA: Casey DeSmith (2.43)

Coaches:

Minnesota Wild: John Hynes (3rd season)

Dallas Stars: Glen Gulutzan (1st season)