The Vancouver Canucks will look to earn a fourth straight win as they visit the Dallas Stars as they wrap up a three-game Western road trip.

The Stars enter on a three-game winning streak and hold a fantastic record of 18-7-1 on home ice this season. However, they suffered a critical loss in their last matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, as superstar defender Miro Heiskanen was injured on a controversial play late in the third.

I’ll detail the relevant game notes, as well as outline my favourite betting angle below.

The Canucks earned two more critical points with a well-rounded performance on the road versus the Nashville Predators in their last matchup, silencing their red-hot offence to emerge with a quality win. During the Canucks three-game winning streak, they hold a 56.54% expected goal share and have generated 3.34 xGF/60.

The Canucks’ power play has looked highly dynamic over the last three matchups, offering up a number of different looks and doing a better-than-average job of entering the zone with possession. Any unit quarterbacked by a defender playing at the level Quinn Hughes is currently should have a strong chance of being highly effective, and that has been the case of late. They have scored on 42.9% of opportunities during this win streak and are up 11th overall this season with a success rate of 22.8%.

Elias Pettersson had an excellent showing in Nashville, recording one assist and a +2 rating in 18:42 of time on ice. The Canucks also held an expected goal share of 64.12% with Pettersson on the ice. His lofty hockey I.Q. was quite evident in a number of key moments.

Nils Höglander and Linus Karlsson also performed well on Pettersson’s wings. If that trio can continue to find success, it will certainly help head coach Rick Tocchet put together a well-balanced top nine.

Tyler Myers followed up his tremendous showing in St. Louis with another strong showing in Nashville, playing on the top pairing alongside Hughes. If Myers can keep this up, it could help the Canucks’ suspect defensive core find better form, as ideally, Filip Hronek will be able to carry the second pairing to respectable results.

At the time of writing, the Canucks morning skate has not yet taken place, so it’s unclear what changes to the lineup we may or may not see. It seems unlikely that Tocchet will shake up his top three offensive units or top two defensive pairings, and any changes will likely come to the fourth line or third pairing.

It would seem fair to allow Elias Pettersson (D) another chance to play after he came out of the lineup in favour of Noah Juulsen on Wednesday, who did not look overly sharp versus the Predators. With the decision between the two realistically doesn’t move the needle much, it seems clear that, at this point, Juulsen is a below-average NHL defender and the Canucks’ are still evaluating what they have in Pettersson at the NHL level.

Demko will get the nod tonight, per Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal. The American netminder had arguably his best outing of the season against the Predators, so it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see Tocchet go back to the 2023-24 Vezina Trophy nominee and hope he can build on that performance.

The Stars have not been quite as dominant as expected this season. They currently sit third in a highly competitive Central Division with a record of 32-17-1. Over the last 10 games, they have played to a record of 6-4 and hold an expected goal differential of 51.21%.

Even before the Heiskanen injury, the Stars defensive corps held some flaws, and GM Jim Nill will surely be keen to bring in an upgrade prior to the deadline. Matt Dumba was highly ineffective last season and has not been any better for the Stars this season. Dumba has played to a -3 expected Goals Above Replacement rating and recorded just two points with a -1 rating.

With Heiskanen and Nils Lundqvist sidelined due to injury, the Stars took morning skate with a first pairing of Thomas Harley and Ilya Lyubushkin, a second pairing of Lian Bichsel and Esa Lindell, and a third pairing of Kyle Capobianco and Dumba.

Heiskanen had averaged over 25 minutes of ice time this season, and based on replacement value, his loss could prove to be especially significant.

The Stars also remain without key forwards Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin. Earlier in the season, the two had formed two-thirds of arguably the best second line in hockey, combining for 47 points in 52 games. It’s a testament to the Stars tremendous offensive depth that they have hung in as well as they have without Marchment and Seguin, but their losses have become more notable of late as the team has averaged just 2.60 goals per game in their last 10 matchups.

The Canucks have finally strung together several quality performances in a row, and there are a lot of positives to point toward from each matchup which could be sustainable. Their power play has looked excellent, and the talent on the top unit suggests it could be among the league’s best units moving forward.

Pettersson was excellent against Nashville and obviously has the potential to be a true game-changer when true to form. If he can continue gaining confidence while remaining highly engaged, it will make the Canucks a significantly more formidable side and quiet some of the negativity surrounding the team.

The Stars are certainly a true Cup Contender, but they do have some skaters on the back end that have offered below-average form this season, which could become far more apparent without Heiskanen on the ice dominating almost half of the game. With Marchment and Seguin sidelined, their offensive upside isn’t quite as spectacular as we have typically seen either, and if the Canucks can shut down the Stars’ red-hot top line, it should lead to a good result.

It seems logical to expect another highly urgent performance from the Canucks, who have shown the ability to hang around with good teams on the road this season. While the Stars certainly deserve to be a favourite, I think this matchup will end up being much more competitive than the current prices suggest.

At +139 or better, I see value in backing the Canucks to stretch their winning streak to four games with an inspired performance on the road.