Maybe Connor Hellebuyck's performance pattern is easier to identify than we think. The home-road dichotomy in Hellebuyck's performances is stark this postseason. At Canada Life Centre, his save percentage is .883; on the road it's only .757. These struggles are well-documented and extend back a couple of years, but the bottom line is the venue seems to matter for Hellebuyck in the playoffs. The best stat, perhaps, of this matchup vs. Dallas is that in all five meetings this season, no more than five goals have been scored. Unders in each with Jake Oettinger holding fort in Game One's 3-2 Stars win. We'll stick with the series trends again in Game Two. Play Stars-Jets Under.

In a league where margins are so tight, perceptions are skewed by performances five, six, even seven months ago into the postseason. Case in point is Winnipeg, which, granted, did win the President's Trophy (poisoned chalice that it is), but much of that was due to a blazing start from the gate when the Jets won 15 of their first 16 by mid-November. Since then, Dallas played effectively as well in the regular season, better even until the last week when the Stars geared down before the playoffs. The addition of Mikko Rantanen, who was still with Colorado in November, has changed the dynamics for Dallas. Does Jake Oettinger rate an edge in goal over Connor Hellebuyck? Play Stars on the Money Line.

Sounds like the Jets will get back top blueliner Josh Morrissey (62 regular-season points, +17) after he was hurt in Game 7 vs. St. Louis and missed the Game 1 home loss to Dallas. Winnipeg can't go to Texas down 2-0 and realistically hope to win the series. The Stars accomplished their mission of stealing home-ice advantage with that victory. And at some point, Mikko Rantanen will stop scoring hat tricks. He's +4000 to get another tonight, which would mark the first time in league history a player had three straight hatties in the postseason.

I'm taking the Jets in a must-win game at home where they are 34-8-4 this season. I expect this series to go seven games with the home teams having a lot of success. The first game was pretty even across the board, although the Jets did have seven more shots on goal and 22 more hits. I'll take Winnipeg to even up the series then look to back Dallas in Game 3 at home.