Stars vs Avalanche Picks and Prediction – 5/18/2024

Dallas Stars vs Colorado Avalanche Prediction

The Dallas Stars visit Ball Arena in Mile High City on Friday to play the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals best of seven series. The opening faceoff will take place at 10:00 PM EST and will be televised by TNT. Dallas leads the series 3-2 but was defeated by Colorado 5-3 in Game 5 on Wednesday. Make sure you stay up to date with all the NHL action, with our expert NHL picks.

Dallas Stars Preview

Dallas took a 3-1 lead in the series after beating Colorado 5-1 in Game 4 but was defeated by the Avalanche 5-3 in Game 5 and now faces a tough Game 6 on the road to win in order not to be forced to a deciding Game 7 at home.  

Dallas finished the regular season 52-21-9 with 113 points, winning the Central division. Dallas is seventh in goals for in the playoffs at 3.00 per game, through 12 games. The Stars are averaging 28.1 shots per game and the power play is scoring 30.0% of the time. Wyatt Johnston is the leader in goals with seven and Miro Heiskanen is second with five. Heiskanen is second in assists with eight and is the points leader with 13, while Jason Robertson is the leader in assists with 9 and second in points with 12. 

Dallas is second in goals against average at 2.50 per game, during the playoffs. During the regular season, Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger was 35-14-4 with a goals against average of 2.72 and save percentage of .905. In 12 playoff games, Oettinger is 7-5 with a goals against average of 2.27 and save percentage of .914.

Colorado Avalanche Preview

Colorado was able to win Game 5 and stave off elimination but now must win again at home on Friday in Game 6. Colorado received two goals from Cale Makar, while Nathan MacKinnon scored one goal and added one assist in Wednesday’s 5-3 win. 

The Avalanche, during the regular season, was 50-25-7 with 107 points, finishing third in the Central Division. Colorado is first in the postseason in goals for at 4.20 per game. The Avalanche are averaging 32.3 shots per game. Colorado is scoring 34.5% of the time on the power play. Artturi Lehkonen is the leading goal scorer with six. Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon have 10 assists apiece to lead the Avalanche. Cale Makar is second in goals with five and the leader in points with 14, while Rantanen has 13.

Colorado is 11th in goals against during the postseason at 3.50. Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev was 38-18-5 with a goals against average of 3.02 and save percentage of .897 during the regular season. In 10 playoff games, Georgiev is 6-4 with a goals against average of 3.09 and save percentage of .890.