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Dallas (1-1) at Minnesota (1-1)
- When: Apr 22 2026, 9:30 PM
- Where: Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, MN, USA
- TV: TNT
Dallas vs Minnesota NHL Preview & Pick
Moneyline: Minnesota -130
Spread: Minnesota -1.5 (+195)
Total: 5.5
Minnesota Wild: Penalty Parade Problems
Minnesota’s Game 2 strategy was simple. Play hockey. Unfortunately, they also decided to host a penalty parade at the same time.
Marcus Foligno basically said it out loud. Stay out of the box and things are fine. Revolutionary concept. Instead, they took eight penalties like they were collecting loyalty points, and Dallas gladly cashed them in.
At even strength, Minnesota looked solid. Competitive, physical, and right there in the fight. Jesper Wallstedt has been steady with a .932 save percentage, which is basically him saying “I’m doing my job, can you guys please stop giving them power plays?”
Injuries are not helping either. Missing pieces like Mats Zuccarello makes this lineup thinner, and in the playoffs, thin rosters get exposed fast.
Still, if they clean up the penalties, this is a very different game. Big if.
Dallas Stars: Power Play Feast
Dallas heard the “they can’t hang 5 on 5” comment and responded the best way possible. By saying nothing… and then scoring on the power play anyway.
This team is not here for debates. They are here for results.
Jake Oettinger has been decent, not amazing, but good enough when it matters. And when Minnesota keeps handing out power plays like free samples, Dallas does not need to be perfect.
They thrive in chaos. Special teams, opportunistic scoring, and grinding out results. It’s not always pretty, but it works. And right now, it has them right back in the series.
Also, shoutout to Minnesota for proving Dallas’ game plan works better than their own.
LVSB NHL Playoffs Prediction
Minnesota at -130 means the market believes they’ll figure out how to not take penalties. Bold assumption.
If they actually stay disciplined, they probably win. If not, Dallas is basically being invited to score again.
Spread at -1.5 for Minnesota at +195 is spicy, but that requires them to control the game. That hasn’t exactly been their specialty for a full 60 minutes.
Total at 6.0 feels like it depends on one thing. Whistles. Lots of penalties means lots of chances, which means this can go over quickly.
Score Prediction: Wild 4, Stars 3
Pick: Minnesota ML (-130)
Total: Over 6.0 (-108)
- NHL Playoffs Odds source: Bovada Sportsbook
