Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche

Quick read:

We are fading the back-to-back Avalanche because their current rotation strategy is roughly equivalent to trying to run a marathon in stilettos. Take the Dallas Stars moneyline and let the home ice advantage do the heavy lifting while Colorado is still limping back from Tuesday's heroics. This is a classic case of momentum meeting a wall, and the Stars are the wall.

Colorado is 3-2 on the season, but that record was built while their goalie was likely the only one not suffering from severe jet lag. They beat Dallas 3-2 in the opener, sure, but that was a battle of attrition where they survived on a 5-on-3 power play, not a display of elite sustainable hockey. Dallas, sitting at 2-2, gets the full 24 hours of recovery and the benefit of a crowd that expects them to actually show up for the second act of this home-and-home series.

The only real risk here is if the Stars decide to mirror Colorado's Tuesday-night chaos and play like they are on ice skates made of taffy. But betting against a team playing their second game in 48 hours is the safest kind of gamble in this league, provided you don't get spooked by a single early power-play goal.