Vancouver Canucks vs Dallas Stars Prediction, Preview and Odds - 12/21/2023

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Thursday, December 21, 2023

Venue:  American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Canucks +124, Stars -148; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Canucks +124, Stars -148; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Canucks +124, Stars -148; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Vancouver Canucks:  22-9-2 (2nd place, Pacific Division)

Dallas Stars:  18-8-4 (1st place, Central Division)

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Vancouver Canucks:  7-2-1 last 10

Dallas Stars:  5-3-2 last 10

The Canucks are entering this game with 46 points, a 22-9-2 record overall, and they are 10-6-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Nashville Predators in their last game, winning that one on the road 5-2. Elias Pettersson, Pius Suter, Nils Åman, Theodor Blueger, and Nils Höglander each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Quinn Hughes and Ilya Mikheyev each led the team in assists with 2 while Elias Pettersson led the team in shots on net in that game with 6. Casey DeSmith was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 28 shots with 26 saves and a .928 save percentage. Their offense has scored 125 goals this season averaging 3.8 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 81 goals against them allowing 2.5 goals per game.

The Stars are entering this game with 40 points, a 18-8-4 record overall, and they are 9-5-1 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Seattle Kraken in their last game, winning that one at home 4-3 in overtime. Matt Duchene led the team in goals with 2 while Thomas Harley and Jason Robertson each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Joe Pavelski led the team in assists with 2 while Jason Robertson led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Scott Wedgewood was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 38 shots with 36 saves and a .921 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 107 goals this season averaging 3.6 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 95 goals against them allowing 3.2 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Stars listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Stars have looked really good in their games this season with their 18-8-4 record overall which has them leading their division in the West. Meanwhile, the Canucks have also looked great this season with their 22-9-2 record overall which has them in 2nd place of their division in the West. Both of these teams have been 2 of the best in the NHL all season and both have looked good in their games lately too. The Canucks have one of the best offenses in the NHL with the way they have been putting pucks in the net lately but the Stars have the home advantage here where they are 9-5-1 this season and they also have a really strong offense that can score goals. The best bet in this game is to go with the over considering how well each team has been playing lately along with the way each team has been scoring goals. Both teams are also fighting for the 1st place spot in their respective divisions so both will be looking to pick up the win here. The best way to place a bet here is on the over in this game. 

Canucks Stars Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, December 21, 2023 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Stars 5 Canucks 4.

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Vancouver Canucks: 22-11 (+9.9 units) on the moneyline in all games. 15-5 (+10.3 units) on the moneyline after playing a game where 7 or more total goals were scored. 11-4 OVER in a road game where the total is 6 or more. 23-15 OVER after a blowout win by 3 goals or more.

Dallas Stars: 61-61 (-16.8 units) on the moneyline off a win or tie in their previous game. 28-36 (-17.4 units) on the moneyline off a home win. 11-3 OVER in a home game where the total is 6 or more. 12-6 OVER after one or more consecutive overs.

Vancouver Canucks:  C. Soucy (D) Mid Jan - Lower Body. G. Brisebois (D) Out indefinitely - Upper Body. T. Poolman (D) out for season - Migraine.

Dallas Stars:  J. Oettinger (G) Out indefinitely - Lower Body. J. Rosburg (D) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed.

“Against this team here, they have a lot of offense, they can go. I think we defended them really well tonight.” - Rick Tocchet after his team’s win against the Predators in their game on Tuesday.

“We knew we deserved it and whether we were going to get it or not, who knows? It’s a coin flip when you get to OT, but fortunately we were able to get it done.” - Matt Duchene after their win against the Kraken in their game on Monday.

LW Mikheyev, Ilya

C Pettersson, Elias

RW Suter, Pius

LD Hughes, Quinn

RD Hronek, Filip

G DeSmith, Casey

LW Robertson, Jason

C Hintz, Roope

RW Pavelski, Joe

LD Suter, Ryan

RD Heiskanen, Miro

G Wedgewood, Scott

Points: J. Miller (45)

Goals: B. Boeser (23)

Assists: Q. Hughes (32)

GAA: T. Demko (2.34)

Points: J. Pavelski (29)

Goals: J. Pavelski (13)

Assists: J. Robertson (18)

GAA: J. Oettinger (2.93)

Coaches:

Vancouver Canucks: Rick Tocchet (2nd season)

Dallas Stars: Peter DeBoer (2nd season)