Minnesota Wild vs Dallas Stars Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/18/2026

Game Time: 5:30 pm ET, Saturday, April 18, 2026

Venue:  American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX 

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Wild +100, Stars -120; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Wild +100, Stars -120; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Wild +100, Stars -120; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Minnesota Wild:  46-24-12 (3rd place, Central Division)

Dallas Stars:  50-20-12 (2nd place, Central Division)

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Minnesota Wild:  6-4-0 last 10

Dallas Stars:  7-2-1 last 10

The Wild are entering the playoffs with 104 points, a 46-24-12 record overall, and they were 23-14-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Anaheim Ducks in their last game, winning that one at home 3-2. Danila Yurov, Hunter Haight, and Robby Fabbri each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Ben Jones, Marcus Johansson, Nick Foligno, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Vladimir Tarasenko each led the team in assists with 1 while Danila Yurov and Robby Fabbri each led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Jesper Wallstedt was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 37 shots with 35 saves and a .946 save percentage. Their offense has scored 272 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 240 goals against them allowing 2.9 goals per game.

The Stars are entering the playoffs with 112 points, a 50-20-12 record overall, and they were 26-11-4 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Buffalo Sabres in their last game, winning that one on the road 4-3 in a shootout. Esa Lindell, Justin Hryckowian, and Mavrik Bourque each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Esa Lindell, Justin Hryckowian, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Jamie Benn each led the team in assists with 1 while Michael Bunting led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Jake Oettinger was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 24 shots with 21 saves and a .875 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 279 goals this season averaging 3.4 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 226 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Stars listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Stars have looked great in their games this season with their 50-20-12 record overall which had them right near the top of their division in the West with one of the best records in the entire NHL. They have looked great on home ice too with their 26-11-4 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Wild have looked really good in their games this season with their 46-24-12 record overall which had them in the top half of their division in the West. They have been a good road team too with their 23-14-4 road record this year. This is the 1st game of a 7-game series between the 2nd seeded Stars and the 3rd seeded Wild in the Central for the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. These two teams have been 2 of the best teams in the NHL all season and they have both looked good lately too. The Wild are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games while the Stars are 7-2-1, but the Stars do have a lot more momentum on their side here. The Wild are off a win over the Ducks in their regular season finale, but they had a chance to earn the home advantage in this series over a week ago, but they lost a pivotal game to this same Stars team. The Stars won that pivotal game and didn't really need to stay strong toward the end of the regular season, but they continued to roll in their games and now they have a ton of momentum with 5 wins in a row. These two have played in some tight games all season, but the Stars did go on a really deep run in the playoffs last year and they will be looking to do that again. The Stars have the slight edge here with the home advantage and they have also been the hotter team entering this series, look for the Stars to come out strong at home in this 1st game of the series. The best way to place a bet here is on the Stars to win this game. 

Wild Stars Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, April 18, 2026 (5:30 pm ET start time) is Stars 3 Wild 2.

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Minnesota Wild: 56-62 (-5.1 units) on the moneyline revenging a loss versus opponent as a favorite. 52-69 (-8.8 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a winning record. 97-90 (-6.1 units) on the moneyline against poor power play killing teams - opp score on over 17.5% of chances. 22-12 OVER when playing against a team with a winning record. 13-7 OVER as a road underdog of +100 to +200. 

Dallas Stars: 171-111 (+12.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 87-45 (+11.5 units) on the moneyline as a home favorite. 84-53 (+8.6 units) on the moneyline after playing a road game. 15-7 OVER after a 3 game winning streak. 15-8 OVER against poor defensive teams - 29 shots on goal or more, convert 17% pp or more. 

Minnesota Wild:  Q. Hughes (D) Day To Day - Illness. Z. Bogosian (D) Day To Day - Lower-body.

Dallas Stars:  M. Heiskanen (D) Day To Day - Lower Body. R. Hintz (C) Out - Lower Body. N. Bastian (RW) Out - Hand. T. Seguin (C) Out For Season - ACL.

“It’s good (to end on a winning streak). What I liked about our guys here tonight, though, is that we didn’t have a great first, but we wanted some habits to stay in our game. I liked the way we dialed in a little bit in the second and third.” - Glen Gulutzan after his team’s win against the Sabres in their game on Wednesday. 

“I’m really happy for Hunter. Just his development, I just really like the way he’s going about his business. He’s gotten better as a second-year pro.” - John Hynes after his team’s win against the Ducks in their game on Tuesday. 

LW Kirill Kaprizov

C Ryan Hartman

RW Mats Zuccarello

LD Quinn Hughes

RD Brock Faber

G Filip Gustavsson

LW Sam Steel

C Wyatt Johnston

RW Mikko Rantanen

LD Thomas Harley

RD Nils Lundkvist

G Jake Oettinger

Points: Kirill Kaprizov (89)

Goals: Kirill Kaprizov (45)

Assists: Quinn Hughes (48)

GAA: Jesper Wallstedt (2.61)

Points: Jason Robertson (96)

Goals: Jason Robertson (45)

Assists: Mikko Rantanen (55)

GAA: Casey DeSmith (2.43)

Coaches:

Minnesota Wild: John Hynes (3rd season)

Dallas Stars: Glen Gulutzan (1st season)