The Dallas Stars are playing their best hockey of the season on a three-game winning streak and a season-high five games over .500 as they welcome the San Jose Sharks on Friday night. The Stars are home underdogs, though, at our online sportsbook.
Anton Khudobin allowed one goal on 29 shots. Khudobin was pitching a shutout until Jujhar Khaira beat him with under six minutes remaining in regulation. The 32-year-old was helped by the fact that Connor McDavid (illness) was out of the Oilers lineup. Khudobin has now won back-to-back games. He has a 6-5-2 record with a 2.71 goals-against-average and a .915 save percentage this season.
Center Martin Hanzal (back) has been cleared to return to action. Hanzal could be back in the lineup as soon as Friday. He had spinal fusion surgery back in March.
Dallas is learning to win the third period. Through the first 19 games of the season, the Stars had a minus-5 goal differential against opponents in the third. Over the last seven games? Plus-7. Dallas is 6-3-3 in one-goal games so far this year.
Sharks vs Stars NHL Betting Analysis & Prediction
The Sharks were home for one game Getting two points was their sole aim The game turned out fun They beat the ‘Canes 5-1 And now they’re back on the road on a plane pic.twitter.com/9JuV4Jv4L2
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) 6 de diciembre de 2018
- When: Friday, 8 PM ET
- Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
- TV: NHL Center Ice
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- Radio: Tunein.com
- NHL Betting Odds: San Jose Sharks -120 / Dallas Stars +110 (Total 5.5)
Season Series
Second of three meetings. They play again next Thursday in San Jose. On Nov. 8, the Stars were home and beat the Sharks 4-3. Devin Shore scored his second goal of the game to break a tie, and Anton Khudobin tied a season-high with 33 saves. Dillon Heatherington’s shot from the left point went off a defender’s leg to Shore in the left circle, and he beat Sharks goalie Martin Jones with 5:47 to play. Khudobin stopped a breakaway by Joe Thornton with just more than a minute left. Evander Kane, Timo Meier and Joe Pavelski scored for San Jose. Brent Burns had two assists, and Jones made 18 saves.Why Bet on San Jose?
The Sharks won their second straight game Wednesday, 5-1 over Carolina. Joe Thornton had three assists. Jumbo Joe now sits just two assists shy of tying Marcel Dionne for 10th all-time in NHL assists. He’s now up to four goals and 12 points in 20 games. Joe Pavelski scored a goal to extend his point streak to five games. He has 18 goals and 24 points in 29 contests in 2018-19. Timo Meier came up big in his return from an upper-body injury with a goal two assists. Meier has 14 goals and 26 points in 26 games. “He definitely gives us a boost,” Pavelski said of Meier. “He brings that speed. He plays a good amount of minutes and fills out certain situations, whether it’s a power play or five-on-five time.” With Meier’s return to the ice, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer reconstructed a new fourth line consisting of Kevin Labanc, Barclay Goodrow and Melker Karlsson. Thornton played his 1,513th NHL game and is one shy of tying Steve Yzerman for 18th place on the all-time list. Sharks forward Logan Couture has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past nine games. Martin Jones made 39 saves. Jones faced the majority of the shots in the first period as he stopped all 17 he faced. He continued to close the door in the second period, stopping 11 of 12 shots and only conceding a power-play goal to the opposition with a minute and a half remaining in the period. The 28-year old owns an 11-6-3 record with a 2.90 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 2018-19. Jones has won back-to-back games, making the save on 79 of 81 shots.Why Bet on Dallas?
Dallas won its third in a row Monday, 4-1 over Edmonton. Jamie Benn scored a power-play goal. Benn’s tally gave the Stars a 3-0 lead at the 7:24 mark of the third period. The 29-year-old has now picked up five points during his three-game point streak and he’s accumulated at least one point in five of his last six. Benn finished the night with an even rating, three shots on goal and three hits in 18:02 of ice time. The Stars captain has 12 goals and 12 assists in 28 games this season. Brett Ritchie had one goal and one assist. Ritchie had been a healthy scratch for Dallas’ previous five games and responded with a strong performance. He got a chance to play because Blake Comeau’s wife, Lacey, gave birth to the couple’s third daughter.
Anton Khudobin allowed one goal on 29 shots. Khudobin was pitching a shutout until Jujhar Khaira beat him with under six minutes remaining in regulation. The 32-year-old was helped by the fact that Connor McDavid (illness) was out of the Oilers lineup. Khudobin has now won back-to-back games. He has a 6-5-2 record with a 2.71 goals-against-average and a .915 save percentage this season.
Center Martin Hanzal (back) has been cleared to return to action. Hanzal could be back in the lineup as soon as Friday. He had spinal fusion surgery back in March.
Dallas is learning to win the third period. Through the first 19 games of the season, the Stars had a minus-5 goal differential against opponents in the third. Over the last seven games? Plus-7. Dallas is 6-3-3 in one-goal games so far this year.
Sharks vs Stars NHL Betting Trends
- Over is 7-1 in the last 8 meetings in Dallas
- Home team is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings
- Over is 20-7-1 in the last 28 meetings
- Sharks are 1-5 in the last 6 meetings
- Sharks are 0-5 in the last 5 meetings in Dallas
- San Jose is 5-15 ATS in its last 20 games
- San Jose is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Jose’s last 6 games
- Dallas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
- Dallas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas’s last 5 games
