Which Veteran Offensive Weapon Can Lead Their Team to Victory?

The Dallas Stars will travel to the Capital One Arena on Sunday evening to take on the Washington Capitals in a non-conference matchup. These two plays played back on January 28 in their last meeting and Washington was able to pick up a dominant 5-0 road victory. The Stars are sitting at fifth in the Central Division (32-23-3, 67 points) and are outside of the Western Conference playoffs by a single point. The Capitals are fourth in the Metropolitan Division (33-18-10, 76 points) and currently are 13 points clear of missing the playoffs.

These teams are both attempting to secure their spot in the postseason so let’s see how they square off against one another in this game. 

Injured Dallas Stars’ Goalies Can Be The Major Difference

The Dallas Stars have been playing pretty well on the offensive side of the ice as they are averaging 2.88 goals on 30.7 shot attempts per game. Center Joe Pavelski is currently tied for 25th in the NHL in points and tied for 27th in the league in assists as he currently has 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists) with four points in the previous five games.

Dallas’ defense is struggling a little as they are giving up 2.95 goals on 31 shots this season. With the injuries to backups Anton Khudobin and former Capitals netminder Braden Holtby in the net, starter Jake Oettinger is the only healthy goalie on the roster right now as he is 19-9-1 with a .918 save percentage and 2.45 goals allowed per game. 

The Capitals have been led this season by left winger Alex Ovechkin as he is currently tied for ninth in the league in points and fifth in the sport in goals as he has posted 72 points (37 goals, 35 assists) while adding seven points in his last five games this season. As a team offensively, they are scoring 3.25 goals on 31.2 shots so far.

The Washington Capitals are expected to have goaltender Ilya Samsonov in the net and he is struggling a bit as he is 17-9-4 with 2.96 goals allowed per game while saving .901 shots this year. On the defensive side of things, Washington is allowing 2.79 goals on 31.2 shot attempts per game. 

Dallas Stars at Washington Capitals Betting Prediction

As we discussed earlier in this article, the defense is going to struggle for the Stars with their injured goaltenders as the Stars are giving up 4.3 goals in their previous three games while the Capitals are allowing 3.2 goals in their last five games. The Capitals are the better team on both sides of the ice and should dominate here. Dallas is currently 26-32 against the spread this season while Washington is 32-29 against the spread.

All in all, go with the Washington Capitals to cover the puck line in this game at home against a Western Conference opponent.

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.