- 1 Dallas Stars vs Columbus Blue Jackets: the NHL’s stingiest defense hosts its lowest-scoring offense
- 2 Dallas Stars: 22.2 shots allowed a game and a 92.9% penalty kill
- 3 Columbus Blue Jackets: 25 goals in 10 games and one power-play goal in 23 chances before Vegas
- 4 Free NHL Prediction: Dallas Stars vs Columbus Blue Jackets
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Dallas Stars vs Columbus Blue Jackets: the NHL’s stingiest defense hosts its lowest-scoring offense 
Columbus won both games against Dallas last season and allowed one goal across the two. The Blue Jackets won 5-1 at American Airlines Center on 21 October 2025, then 1-0 at home on 22 January 2026, when Jet Greaves made 28 saves for the shutout.
The third game between them in a year comes on Saturday, 31 October, back in Dallas, with puck drop at 8:00pm ET. It’s the first of two meetings this season, with the second in Columbus on 5 November.
A lot has changed since January. Merzlikins went to Toronto in a trade on 28 September, along with Marchenko and Wood, and Columbus got Knies, Andrae, Lorentz and a conditional 2027 second-round pick back. The Blue Jackets went into Thursday’s game in Carolina at 5-5-0, seventh in the Metropolitan.
Dallas went into Thursday’s home game against Montreal at 7-4-1, third in the Central, and it allows 2.00 goals a game, the fewest in the NHL. Columbus has scored 25 goals, the fewest in the league.
Both teams play Thursday and neither plays Friday. Columbus travels from Raleigh, two games into a road trip; Dallas stays home for the last game of a six-game homestand.
Dallas Stars: 22.2 shots allowed a game and a 92.9% penalty kill 
The defensive numbers are the best in the league. Dallas gives up 22.2 shots a game, second-fewest, kills 92.9% of penalties, first, and has Jake Oettinger at 6-2-1 with a 1.43 goals-against average, a .929 save percentage and three shutouts.
Mikko Rantanen leads the scoring with 6 goals and 14 points, including a hat trick in the 3-2 overtime win over Boston on 20 October. Jason Robertson has 13 points and scored twice in a 6-3 win over the Islanders on 25 October. Roope Hintz has 10.
The offense is the part that’s ordinary. Dallas averages 2.67 goals a game, 25th, and its power play converts 18.5%, 21st. Two of the wins in their recent five-game streak came 3-2 in overtime, against Boston on 20 October and Winnipeg on 22 October.
Tuesday’s 5-1 home loss to New Jersey stands out as the exception. Casey DeSmith started and stopped 22 of 27 shots, while Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves in his first game for the Devils. DeSmith is 1-2-0 with an .888 save percentage this season, so the Stars are a different team with Oettinger in net.
The injury list is long but mostly depth. Matt Duchene is on injured reserve until around January, Capobianco is out until about 5 November, and Lindell, Krys, Steel and Faksa are all close to returning. David Perron has signed a one-year deal and was in line to debut on Thursday.
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Columbus Blue Jackets: 25 goals in 10 games and one power-play goal in 23 chances before Vegas 
Columbus scores 2.50 goals a game. Its power play converts 11.1%, 30th in the league, and the goal Adam Fantilli scored in overtime against Vegas on 24 October was the team’s first power-play goal in 23 attempts.
The results have been tighter than the scoring suggests. Columbus won 1-0 in overtime against the Rangers on 17 October, 2-1 in overtime against Vegas and 4-3 in overtime in Philadelphia on Tuesday, when Kent Johnson scored twice, including the winner, after the Blue Jackets blew a 3-0 lead.
Johnson leads the team with 6 goals and 10 points. Zach Werenski has 8 assists without a goal, Charlie Coyle has 8 points, and Fantilli has 4 goals and 6 points. The projected top line is Nichushkin, Fantilli and Johnson.
The goaltending has been split. Jet Greaves is 2-3-0 with a 3.34 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage, while Cam Talbot is 3-2-0, 2.83 and .894 and started both of the last two games. Columbus allows 3.30 goals and 28.1 shots per game.
The road record is 1-2-0. Defenseman Ivan Provorov is week-to-week after getting hurt in the preseason finale, while Dante Fabbro came back on Tuesday after missing nine games with an upper-body injury. The penalty kill, at 72.7%, ranks 23rd.
Probable lineup Dallas Stars: Kiviranta, Johnston, Rantanen; Robertson, Hintz, Seguin; Ju. Hryckowian, Hyry, Benn; Blackwell, Seminoff. Defense: Harley, Heiskanen; Bichsel, Lundkvist; Myers. Goalie: Oettinger (not confirmed).
Probable lineup Columbus Blue Jackets: Nichushkin, Fantilli, K. Johnson; Knies, Coyle, Olivier; Monahan, Sillinger, Garland; Voronkov, Del Bel Belluz, Lomberg. Defense: Werenski, Severson; Christiansen, Mateychuk; Fabbro, Gudbranson. Goalie not announced at time of publication.
Free NHL Prediction: Dallas Stars vs Columbus Blue Jackets
Our prediction: Dallas Stars to win (around 1.59)
I’m taking Dallas at around 1.59. The Stars allow two goals a game and kill penalties at 92.9%, and Columbus has the fewest goals in the league and a power play at 11.1%. That combination leaves the Blue Jackets needing to win low-scoring games in overtime, which they’ve done three times, but not in a building like this.
The head-to-head is the argument against. Columbus beat Dallas 5-1 and 1-0 last season, and the Stars lost 5-1 to New Jersey on Tuesday with an offense ranked 25th. If DeSmith starts instead of Oettinger, I’d want a longer price.
With Oettinger, though, Dallas has a goaltender at .929 facing a team that needed 23 power plays to score once with the extra man. The early market makes Dallas around a two-in-three favourite, and I think that’s fair. Check the starting goalie before betting.
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