Stars at Avalanche: NHL Odds & Game Preview

The rivalry between Central Division foes Dallas and Colorado is intense and one of the most underrated in the NHL. The teams met in the playoffs in each of the last 2 seasons and once again are battling for the division lead.

The teams have finished among the top 3 in the Central for three years running and are on pace to make it a fourth. They are currently the highest point-getters in the NHL with Colorado leading the way with 97 and Dallas close behind at 94. As of this writing they are the only teams with more than 90 points.

Stars at Avalanche Preview

The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche will meet in the third of four games this season on Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at Ball Arena in Denver. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET with TNT televising the game live.

Public Betting Odds Factors

Dallas is making the race in the Central tight with an incredible run. They won a fourth straight game beating Detroit 3-2 in overtime on Saturday. It was their 14th win in 15 games with 4 OT wins and one in the shootout.

Over the last 14 games of Dallas’ run the Stars scored 3 or more goals 13 times cashing the OVER on the NHL spread 9 times. The Stars average the sixth-most goals in NHL with 3.45.

It’s easy to see why the Avalanche are on pace to win the President’s Trophy. They boast the highest scoring offense behind MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon and they allow the fewest goals per game. It would be a rare feat to finish the season as the best in both categories.

Colorado has just 12 regulation losses so you could say they closed the week in a slump losing 2 of 3 games. They were stoned by Olympic gold medal goalie Connor Hellebuyck in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Winnipeg. The Avalanche were blanked for nearly 59 minutes and were denied as they had 28 shots on goal.

Speaking of goaltenders Colorado has 2 of the best in the NHL allowing them to lead the NHL in goals against. Scott Wedgewood leads all netminders with a 2.16 GAA and .918 save percentage. MacKenzie Blackwood has the 5th best GAA with a save percentage of .908.

Due to their success on both ends of the ice Colorado and Dallas boast the best goal differentials in the NHL. Colorado has a big lead in this stat at plus-84, a total of 30 goals better than the Stars, who are plus-54.

Stars at Avalanche Predictions

Despite their ability to defend we’ve seen the teams play some shootouts in the past. They’ve actually played 2 shootouts this season with the teams splitting the games with an identical 5-4 score. And in their playoff series last season the last 3 games of the 7-game set saw a total of 25 goals scored.

With Dallas making a surge in the Central this is an important contest for Colorado to squelch the momentum. It’s also a big game in terms of dealing with their biggest obstacle. The Avalanche were eliminated by Dallas in the last 2 postseason tournaments and had lost 5 of 7 games until a 5-4 SO win earlier this month.

Stars at Avalanche Betting Tips

Dallas is red hot winning 14 of its last 15 games allowing 2 or fewer goals 9 times. Their only loss in that stretch was in a shootout to Colorado on Mar. 6.

Despite being a favorite in a big majority of their matchups the Stars are the 6th most profitable teams in the NHL. And they’ve gone OVER the total in 5 of their last 7 games.

The UNDER has cashed 8 times with 2 pushes on the NHL betting line in Colorado’s last 13 games.

Stars at Avalanche Head to Head and Key Stats

The Stars have had Colorado’s number in the postseason winning in each of the last 2 seasons. Dallas won in 7 games last season and won a second round series 2024 in 6 games winning 4 of 6 games in Denver.

The last 3 regular season games between the clubs went into extra time with Colorado prevailing in 2 of them. The Lanche won 5-4 in a shootout a few weeks ago and closed last season with a 4-3 OT win.