7:40 pm
September 19

Stars v. Lightning

Who will WIN this matchup?

Dallas Stars

Tampa Bay Lightning

 

Starting Goalies:

Anton Khudobin (DAL): Unconfirmed

Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB): Unconfirmed

 

Current odds:

Dallas Stars: (+135)

Tampa Bay Lightning: (-155)

 

• The Stars, despite finishing fourth in the Western Conference during the truncated regular season, were not considered a big favorite when they faced the Calgary Flames in opening round of the playoffs. They were definitely the underdogs against both the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights in the subsequent rounds. Yet, they dispatched them all en route to facing the Lightning.

• Dallas won both regular-season meetings against Tampa Bay in overtime. Both teams have won one Stanley Cup: the Stars in 1999 and Tampa Bay in 2004. Both teams have reached the Cup Final only to lose — Dallas in 2000 and the Lightning in 2015.

• Despite being outshot and outplayed by wide margins through their series with the Golden Knights, the Stars relied heavily on goaltender Anton Khudobin, who stopped 153 of 161 shots for a .950 save percentage, in dispatching Vegas in five games.

• The Stars will face a Lightning team still fueled by their upset in the first round of last year’s playoffs. Tampa Bay defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets and Boston Bruins in five games before beating the New York Islanders in six games in the Eastern Conference final.

• Tampa’s high-octane attack was too much for the defense-first New York Islanders, while Dallas, which boasts a strong blend of veteran experience to go with a bevy of young talented skaters, counter-punched to beat the offensively talented Golden Knights.

• The Lightning provided no update on the status of captain Steven Stamkos, who has not played in the postseason, but has returned to practice. Top scorer Brayden Point missed a couple of conference final games due to an undisclosed injury but played the series finale. For Dallas, goalie Ben Bishop, forward Radek Faksa and defenseman Stephen Johns remain unfit to play, as of now.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Tampa Bay Lightning
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