Stars vs. Avalanche Game 3 odds, pick: NHL playoffs best bets Wednesday

Just when everyone thought the Dallas Stars were out, they pulled us back in. Facing the prospect of going down 2-0 in their best-of-seven with the Colorado Avalanche and still without their best defenseman and top goal-scorer, the Stars pulled off the upset in Game 2 to send the series back to Colorado even at 1-1. Dallas still has plenty of work to do, and is a big underdog to win the series, but a win Wednesday night would change the complexion of this series and the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs.You could make a solid argument that the Stars are a bit unlucky to be tied in this series.Dallas was as sharp as Colorado in Game 1, but fell victim to a couple of bad bounces.The Stars were clearly the better team in Game 2 and were rewarded with an overtime victory. The Avalanche have outscored the Stars, 5-3, at 5-on-5 through the first two games, but the expected goals tilt towards Dallas, 5.9-3.8.The Stars also have created nine more high-danger scoring chances (25-16) than the Avs. The talent discrepancy between these two teams favors the Avs because of the injuries to Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson, but there’s a chance that the former is back in the lineup for Game 3.Colorado looked like a force of nature down the stretch, and the Avs were impressive in Game 1, but it’s fair to say that the hockey world was counting out the Stars too early.And yet, the price on Dallas to win Game 3 remains quite high.The Stars have been the better team at 5-on-5, they could be getting Heiskanen back, and they should have the edge in goal, albeit a slight one. This one is closer to a coin flip than these odds imply.The Play: Stars (+160, bet365)Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry.He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports....