Can the Stars, Rangers take care of business on the road?

There are nine games scheduled for a busy Tuesday night in the NHL. Although the slate is lacking when it comes to marquee matchups, there is plenty of value on the betting board.

Let's take a closer look at a couple of sides that stand out.

The Red Wings have won a lot of games of late, but they aren't necessarily playing well, particularly at five-on-five. They have controlled just 42.67% of the expected goal share in January, faring worse than all but the Blues and Canadiens.

The team has also struggled to create chances, generating only 1.89 expected goals per 60 minutes. That's the worst mark in the NHL.

Detroit has nonetheless managed to score goals at a fairly healthy clip because of an 11.37% conversion rate. The Wings do have a couple of high-end offensive players, but that kind of clip is not sustainable.

If they don't drastically improve their underlying process, things are going to get ugly in a hurry when the shooting luck dries up.

A date with the Stars is an obvious spot for that to happen.

Jake Oettinger is likely to return to the crease following a short absence with the flu. He isn't enjoying his best season, but his game is heading in the right direction and he's allowed only one goal in two of his past three contests.

The Stars are also a stable defensive team, even without Miro Heiskanen. Youngster Thomas Harley has handled himself nicely while taking on a bigger workload and helped ensure the Stars don't miss a beat.

Dallas has more high-end talent and a better underlying profile. So long as Oettinger shows no signs of rust after a weekend illness and gives the Stars a respectable performance, they should be able to cool off a Wings team whose recent success appears to be smoke and mirrors.

Bet: Stars (-145)

The Sharks love losing by multiple goals. Of their last 14 losses, 11 were by at least two goals. When they lose, they often lose big.

This is a prime spot for that to happen again. The Sharks played a taxing game against the Kings on Monday night. They played a full 65 minutes, conceded 47 shots, and spent a lot of time on their heels chasing the puck around in the defensive zone.

Now they have to take on the Metro Division-leading Rangers with a quick turnaround. And they have to do it without their best goaltender.

Kaapo Kahkonen (+5.3 goals saved above expectation) played on Monday night, meaning the Sharks will turn to Mackenzie Blackwood (-1.6 GSAE) in this one. Blackwood owns a .894 save percentage and has won just six of 27 starts. For reference, Kahkonen has won six of 19.

Kahkonen has very clearly outplayed Blackwood under the same set of circumstances. Not having him available against the Rangers is a problem.

The Rangers have one of the league's best five-on-five lines in Artemi Panarin's unit and the league's second-best power play by conversion rate. They are tough for opposing defenses and goaltenders to deal with.

Coming off one of their worst stretches of the season, in which they won only four of 10 games, the Rangers will no doubt be looking to get back on track and flex their muscles in the most advantageous matchup they will come across.

Bet: Rangers -1.5 (-130)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.

Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.