Stars vs Ducks

Jason Robertson and the Stars walk into Honda Center tonight facing a Ducks team on a nine-game losing streak and fresh off an 8-3 beating in this building the last time they met, when Robertson erupted for two goals and an assist and Dallas’ power play and depth took over. With current ESPN rosters showing Dallas at essentially full strength — rolling out Robertson, Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston and Miro Heiskanen in front of Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith — while Anaheim leans heavily on Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Mason McTavish and has key contributors like Frank Vatrano and Petr Mrazek on injured reserve and Troy Terry banged up, the talent and health gap widens just as both clubs hit the season’s midpoint. The Stars’ 15-4-6 road mark, 13-1-4 record when they take fewer penalties, and top-tier goal differential stack up against a Ducks side that’s 1-8-1 in its last 10, allowing 4.2 goals per night over that span and drifting away from the wild-card race, which is a bad place to be when you’re trying to slow down one of the league’s best offenses. I expect Anaheim’s effort level to be high with its playoff hopes flickering and a decent 12-8-1 home record, but the combination of superior five-on-five play, special-teams edge and goaltending still points to Dallas at -120 as the sharper moneyline position; I’d grade this a B+ for a strong likelihood of cashing at a fair, if not bargain, price. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 13/01/2026 10:04

This matchup profiles as another track meet more than a goalie duel: Dallas is scoring around 3.4 goals per game and Anaheim about 3.2, they combine for roughly 6.6 goals on average, and their last meeting exploded to 11 total goals with the Stars hanging eight. The posted total of 6.5 with the over at -118 sits in a sweet spot where Dallas’ elite, near-30% power play and aggressive blue line (Heiskanen and Thomas Harley) collide with the league’s 32nd-ranked defense by goals against, a Ducks team that has already played north of 30 games landing above 6.5, and a goaltending situation thinned by Mrazek’s IR stint and heavy workloads for Lukas Dostal and Ville Husso. Even with Vatrano out and Terry not fully healthy, Anaheim’s young core of Carlsson, Gauthier, McTavish and Beckett Sennecke plus veteran Chris Kreider has been generating enough chances to contribute multiple goals, and the Ducks’ top-10 penalty-minute rate and tendency to chase games during this long skid create extra power plays and empty-net scenarios that are friendly to an over. Oettinger is good enough to turn this into a 4-2 or 4-1 under on his own, and both teams know the playoff race is tightening, which can occasionally bring a more conservative script, but the combination of historical scoring between these sides, current offensive form and defensive leakiness still nudges me to Over 6.5 at -118 with a solid B grade for probability and a reasonable return given the juice. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 13/01/2026 10:04

On the puckline, I’m willing to lean into Dallas’ ceiling and take Stars -1.5 at -275, but only as a lighter play given how demanding that price is relative to the risk. The same ingredients that powered December’s 8-3 road rout — Robertson and Rantanen driving a top-line attack, a mobile defense that jumps into the rush, and a power play that punishes undisciplined teams — are on the ice again, while Anaheim staggers in on a nine-game losing streak, allowing 4.2 goals per outing over its last 10 and now missing Vatrano’s scoring punch plus Mrazek’s veteran presence in net behind a young blue line. With the Stars boasting one of the league’s best road records and depth scoring from the likes of Johnston, Matt Duchene, Jamie Benn and others, there’s a very real path where an early Dallas lead forces the Ducks — a .500 team fighting to stay relevant in the playoff chase — to open up in the third period, turning a competitive game into another multi-goal final via odd-man rushes or an empty-netter. Still, Anaheim’s 12-8-1 home mark and the possibility that a desperate, healthier forward group (if Terry dresses) rallies for a tight, one-goal effort make this far less attractive than a simple moneyline position, so I’d only grade Stars -1.5 at -275 as a C+: correlated with our other leans and likely enough to hit, but offering the weakest standalone value because of the heavy juice. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 13/01/2026 10:04