🏒 Wild vs. Stars Game 1 Prediction & Odds: NHL Picks Today (April 18)

Central Division foes open up a best-of-seven NHL playoff series this afternoon when the Minnesota Wild visit the Dallas Stars for Game 1. Oddsmakers expect a close one, with Dallas lined as a -120 betting favorite ahead of puck drop at American Airlines Center in Dallas at 5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).

My Wild vs. Stars prediction focuses on why the host should capitalize on home-ice advantage while highlighting a visiting player who could make a splash for the visitors

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🏒 Wild vs. Stars picks & odds: Game 1

See all of our experts' NHL picks based on the latest NHL odds.

Total wagered: 2 units | Max profit: 2.02 units

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🏆 Who will win Wild vs. Stars?

These teams split their regular-season meetings, but the Stars will win tonight. Playoffs are often decided by special teams, and while not much separates them, Dallas has the better PP and PK than Minnesota, even though the Wild have been electric since Quinn Hughes joined.

But what really leans this in favor of the Stars tonight is the impending return of Miro Heiskanen, who has been an absolute menace to the Wild. Heiskanen brings the ability to shut down Kirill Kaprizov, which will be a huge hurdle for the Wild's offense.

Score prediction: Stars 4, Wild 2

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💰 Wild vs. Stars prediction & best bet

Over 5.5 goals

Jesper Walldstedt will get the nod between the pipes for the Wild tonight, and while the rookie netminder put together an excellent rookie season, well, the playoffs are a different beast. The Stars boast an incredible offense - even with Roope Hintz sidelined - headlined by Jason Robertson, who finished 10th in league scoring (96 points) and tied fourth for goals (45).

The Stars will also likely get some friendly home-ice refereeing, which could help them find additional power-play opportunities. Dallas finished the year with the league's second-best mark (28.6%), so the pressure should be on the young goalie making his first playoff start on the road at American Airlines Center.

Top it off with the absolute push to try to find an equalizer for the trailing team late, and we could see plenty of chances for an empty-net marker.

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🔥 Best Wild vs. Stars player prop bet

Quinn Hughes to record 1+ assists (-115)

It's not all Stars talk here; this isn't Dallas radio. Hughes has been absolutely electric for the Wild since joining mid-season, putting up a staggering 53 points (48 assists) in 48 games. His ability to consistently find the score sheet isn't a fluke: he's been nearly a point-per-game player his whole career.

But why pay the -155 price for a point when we can get the assist at -115? He's taken a major step back in finding the back of the net this season, posting a 3.7 shooting percentage (down from back-to-back seasons over 8%).

We're also going to get down with a smaller play on power-play point for the blueliner as well. Since joining the Wild, the team has been producing at a 27.7% rate on the PP (bringing their season average to 25.2%). At better than +200, it's worth a roll of the dice.

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🚀 Wild vs. Stars same-game parlay

We're going to mix some of our best bets with a couple of player props as we look to keep the action rolling tonight. I like to place my SGPs at bet365, where I'm often given a choice of the best sportsbook promos; always shop around and make sure you're getting the best price for your buck. 

Let's lump in our Over 5.5 best bet, that way we're just rooting for goals. We'll also include the Quinn Hughes assist and top it off with Jason Robertson goal -- he picked up three in four games vs. the Wild during the regular season.

As always, don't get carried away with SGPs, partial-unit plays are best.

💵 Wild vs. Stars SGP picks

• Over 5.5 (-125)
• Quinn Hughes assist (-115)
• Jason Robertson anytime goal scorer (+120)

Best odds: +420 via bet365 (0.25u -> 1.08u)

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💵 My betting record for NHL picks

All NHL picks, including SGPs, have been tracked since March 3.

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💡 How I'm betting Wild vs. Stars

Follow all of our NHL analysis and expert predictions this season.

Let's make sure we take it easy here: this is going to be an incredibly tight series between evenly matched teams. I'm going to dedicate the standard two units per game, split between plays on the side, total, and my favorite player prop split in two. I think it would be too risky to dedicate the entire unit on the player prop to the great price on the power-play point, but I also think that it would be foolish to pass on it altogether. 

The first game of the series should give us a good look at these teams, see their current forms, and see how they should play each other over the remaining games. This isn't a normal regular-season meeting, and we can't necessarily expect it to play out like a regular-season game.

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📊 Live Wild vs. Stars odds

This line opened a couple of days ago, but it seems like oddsmakers nailed it. While things briefly moved to Dallas (-125) earlier today, it was drawn back quickly to the -120 opener. At this point it seems unlikely that we'll see serious movement short of a surprise roster announcement. 

The total might probably end up at 6, and some of the best sports betting sites have already moved there since opening at 5.5. I'd rather pay the juice on the 5.5 if you can get it, but the flat six would still result in a push if you go over on that. Seven goals in the regular season between these teams wouldn't be a shock, but the playoffs tend to bring out slightly tighter play.

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📈 Wild vs. Stars betting trends

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🚑 Wild vs. Stars injuries

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📺 How to watch Wild vs. Stars

• Date: Saturday, April 18
• Puck drop: 5:30 p.m. ET
• Location: American Airlines Center (Dallas)
• TV: ESPN