Minnesota Wild vs. Dallas Stars Game Preview, Picks & Odds for Saturday, April 18, 2026

By Thom Cunningham | Apr 17, 2026, 9:23pm

The Western Conference begins its 2026 NHL Playoffs with the Minnesota Wild heading to Texas to faces the Dallas Stars on Saturday, April 18. The Stars have flirted with Lorde Stanley over the last few seasons, while Minnesota’s two-headed monster look to advance the Wild as series underdogs. Let’s go through the betting trends, odds, data and insights for Game 1 from American Airlines Center.

Wild vs. Stars Betting Analysis

The Over has hit in three of four meetings, with the winning team hitting five points. With those two trends, the Over does feeling enticing. However, the Under has actually hit in a somewhat remarkable 10 straight divisional games for the Wild when playing during the daytime. Also, Dallas slightly favors the Under at home averaging six goals a game inside AA Center while seeing a 19-21-1 O/U record.

Minnesota is somewhat limping into the playoffs with losses in three of four games, while the home team is on a 6-0 SU run over the last six meetings between both clubs. Dallas also enters with momentum, on a current five-game winning streak. The puck line might be best to avoid, with Minnesota expected with heavy odds and the Stars failing to cover an insane 11 straight home games when coming off overtime.

Wild vs. Stars Best Bet, Pick & Prediction

At the price of -120, taking Dallas to win outright is the best.

Best Bet: DAL ML (-118)
Score Prediction: DAL 4, MIN 3

Wild vs. Stars Game Odds

Wild vs. Stars Game Information

Date: Saturday, April 18, 2026
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Network: ESPN
Location: Dallas, Texas
Venue: American Airlines Center – 6 goals per game; 19-21-1 O/U
Series Score: 0-0
Series Preview

Wild vs. Stars Betting Resources

Wild vs. Stars Key Players

Dallas Stars

Jason Robertson – Season Stats: 45 goals, 51 assists, +22
Wyatt Johnston – Season Stats: 45 goals, 41 assists, -5
Jake Oettinger – Season Stats: 35-12-6, 2.59 GAA, .899 SV%

Minnesota Wild

Kirill Kaprizov – Season Stats: 45 goals, 44 assists, +10
Matt Boldy – Season Stats: 42 goals, 43 assists, +18
Filip Gustavsson – Season Stats: 28-15-6, 2.69 GAA, .904 SV%

Photo Credit: AP/Julio Cortez

Thom Cunningham

Thom Cunningham is the Lineups.com News Editor and has been involved with sports media for almost two decades at Spectrum, VegasInsider.com, Oddschecker, VSiN and much more as a content producer - focused on the betting and gaming space over the last decade tracking insights, data analytics and covering various markets from the NFL to the Oscars.