Trent Reinsmith
- What: Game 6 NHL Western Conference Round 1 Playoffs
- Who: Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild
- Date: Friday, April 28, 2023
- Location: Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN
- Time: TBD
- How to Watch: TBD
The 2023 NHL Western Conference playoff matchup between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild is heading to an elimination game. On Tuesday night, the Stars took a 3-2 series lead over the Wild with a 4-0 shutout win in front of a sold-out home crowd at Dallas’ American Airlines Center. On Friday, the Western Conference foes return to the Xcel Energy Center for Game 6 of their NHL playoff series.
The Stars and Wild alternated wins and losses for the first three games of the 2023 NHL playoff series, with Minnesota securing two victories in the first three games of the series. The Stars won Games 4 and 5, and now have the Wild on the brink of elimination. Dallas has not been past the first round of the NHL playoffs since the club went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2020, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. As for Minnesota, the last time they made it past the first round was in 2015.
The Stars and Wild met in the first round of the 2016 NHL playoffs. Dallas won that series 4-2. The elimination game took place in Minnesota, and Dallas won 5-4.
Before we look at the betting breakdown for Friday’s 2023 NHL playoff matchup between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild, check out our guide to betting on the 2023 Stanley Cup and our tips for betting on the NHL.
Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild betting picks for Game 6
| To Win 2023 Western Conference Playoff Series Game 6 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Dallas Stars | -107 | -105 | -105 | -105 | -105 |
| Minnesota Wild | -103 | -115 | -115 | -115 | -116 |
Dallas Stars betting breakdown
The Dallas Stars‘ plan heading into their 2023 NHL playoff series was to take advantage of the Minnesota Wild‘s propensity for taking penalties. The Stars have done that. Dallas leads the NHL in power play goals for the playoffs this year with nine. The team’s power play unit is connecting at the third-best rate of 40.9 percent. Dallas’ first two goals of Game 5 came with the team on the man advantage.
Roope Hintz leads the Stars in scoring with 11 points. His four goals for the series is tied for tops on the team with Tyler Seguin. All of Seguin’s goals have come on the power play. Evgenii Dadonov has contributed three goals for the team, and Jason Robertson has scored twice for Dallas with two power play markers.
Jake Oettinger has been in net for each of the Stars’ five games. Besides his hiccup in Game 3 when he gave up four goals, Oettinger has played well for Dallas. He has a 2.19 goals against average and a .925 save percentage, both of which rank him in the top five among NHL goalies in the postseason.
Joe Pavelski remains in the NHL’s concussion protocol, but he has begun skating.
Minnesota Wild betting breakdown
The Minnesota Wild were among the most penalized teams during the 2023 NHL regular season. Unfortunately, the club has not curtailed its tendency to spend time in the penalty box in the 2023 NHL playoffs. Minnesota has given Dallas 22 shorthanded opportunities during their first round series. Dallas has connected on nine of those chances. In short, if the Wild want to make it past the first round, the team must stay out of the penalty box.
Mats Zuccarello leads the Wild in scoring with five points. The team does not have one player with more than two goals this series, but Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson and Frederick Gaudreau each have two markers.
After winning Game 1 of the series against Dallas 3-2 with Filip Gustavsson in net, the Wild gave Marc-Andre Fleury a try in Game 2. Fleury gave up seven goals in a 7-3 loss. Since that setback, Gustavsson has owned the net. He is No. 3 in the playoffs in goals against average at 2.01 and third in save percentage at .928.
Best bet for Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild Game 6
The Wild know what they need to do to beat the Stars. With that, expect Minnesota to play a much more disciplined and defensively sound game when they face Dallas at home on Friday night. The best bet is to pick the Minnesota Wild to win and for them to extend their NHL Western Conference playoff series against the Dallas Stars to seven games.
Pick: Minnesota Wild to beat Dallas Stars in Game 6 of their 2023 NHL Western Conference playoff series.
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