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- What: Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars
- Date: Thursday, January 4, 2024
- Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: ALT, BSSW, NHLPP/ESPN+
Two of the top teams in the NHL’s Western Conference face off tonight when the Colorado Avalanche take to the road to play the Dallas Stars. The Avalanche are the No. 1 team in the Central Division with a 24-11-3 record. Meanwhile, the Stars trail Colorado by three points with a 22-10-4 mark. Dallas is in third place in the Central heading into tonight’s matchup.
Colorado has seemingly shaken off their surprising first-round exit from the 2023 NHL playoffs, where they lost to the Seattle Kraken in seven games. One of the betting favorites to win the 2024 Stanley Cup, Colorado is 8-7-3 on the road this season. Nathan MacKinnon, who is the leading scorer on the team, is second in the NHL in points this season while leading the league in assists.
The Dallas Stars made a deep run in the playoffs last year, taking eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, to six games in the conference finals. The Stars kept their core of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin, Miro Heiskanen, and Jake Oettinger together for 2024 and added one-time 40-goal scorer Matt Duchene to the lineup. Dallas has a 12-6-1 home record in 2024,
Before we look at the betting breakdown for tonight’s NHL matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, check out our betting picks to win the 2024 Stanley Cup and our tips for betting on the NHL.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars betting picks – January 4, 2024
 | Puck Line | Money Line | Total |
| Colorado Avalanche | +1.5 (-220) | +115 | Ov 6.0 (-103) |
| Dallas Stars | -1.5 (+180) | -135 | Un 6.0 (-117) |
Colorado Avalanche betting breakdown
The bad news for the Colorado Avalanche is that the team will be without their captain, Gabriel Landeskog, for a second straight season. Landeskog, who was last seen hoisting the Stanley Cup over his head at the end of the 2022 NHL season, underwent his third knee surgery in 14 months in May. The good news is that the team won the Western Conference’s Central Division in 2023 without Landeskog. Colorado finished the year with a 51-24-7 record and 109 points.
The Avalanche are again playing well without Landeskog, racking up the most goals in the Central Division (139), while allowing the fourth-fewest goals in that division with 115. Colorado’s plus-24 goal differential is the fourth-highest total in the NHL’s Western Conference this season.
Nathan MacKinnon had a career year last season with 111 points. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL entry draft, MacKinnon is on pace to improve on those numbers in 2024. The 28-year-old has 20 goals and 41 assists this year and leads the team in all three categories. Mikko Rantanen is second on the team in scoring with 47 points.
Colorado’s starting goaltender, Alexandar Georgiev, is 20-8-2 on the season with a 2.90 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.
The Avalanche have the eighth-best power play in the NHL (24.5 percent). They are also eighth on the penalty kill (83.2 percent).
Dallas Stars betting breakdown
The Dallas Stars‘ decision to keep their core together for another year was wise. The team was a deep one last year, with nine players who scored more than 10 goals in the regular season. Adding Matt Duchene to that group will only help, as Duchene put up 22 goals for Nashville in 2023 after scoring a career-high 43 for that club in 2022.
The Stars are playing sound defensive hockey this year. Only the Arizona Coyotes and Winnipeg Jets have given up fewer goals than Dallas’ 111 goals against in 2024. The Stars are second in the division in goal scoring with 131 goals for.
Jason Robertson leads the Stars in scoring with 37 points. He is also first on the team in assists with 25. Dallas’ leading goal scorer is Roope Hintz with 15. Seven Stars’ players have scored 10 or more goals this season.
Jake Oettinger last played in net for the Stars on December 15. With their starting goalie on the shelf, the Stars have relied on Scott Wedgewood to start the past nine games. Wedgewood has a 3.01 goals against average and a .900 save percentage on the season.
Dallas has the No. 14 power play in the NHL (22.1 percent), and the No. 3 penalty kill (85.3 percent).
Best bets for Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars
The Avalanche and Stars have played 14 times over the past five seasons. The teams have combined for more than seven goals in three of those games. Those three games are the most recent meetings of the teams, where the teams scored 10, seven, and nine goals. Don’t look for the high-scoring trend to continue in tonight’s matchup. The betting pick is for the teams to combine for under 6.5 goals.
Dallas has played well at home this year, and they are 4-1 in their past five home games. Look for their strong play at American Airlines Center to continue. The betting pick is for the Stars to end Colorado’s three-game winning streak tonight.
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