Jonathan Marchessault More Than 3 Shots on Goal
The Dallas Stars return home after dropping both road games to open this series against the Vegas Golden Knights. In Game 2, Vegas forced overtime after Jonathan Marchessault found the back of the net with just under three minutes remaining – a game it went on to win thanks to a Chandler Stephenson overtime goal.
Marchessault's goal was his second point of the game as he continues to dominate during these Stanley Cup Playoffs. Over his past eight games, Marchessault has logged six goals while adding four assists.
Part of the reason for this success is his relentlessness in shooting the puck. Over that same stretch, he has averaged 4.9 shots on goal per game.
Can Marchessault keep it going in Game 3? He has logged at least three shots on goal in seven of his past eight games, and I do not see any reason why he would start to get timid in the shooting department based on his recent success.
Reilly Smith + Jason Robertson More Than 0.5 Goals
We just need one of these two guys to find the back of the net for this entry to cash. Let's start with Jason Robertson.
After finally getting the monkey off his back in Game 1 following an eight-game goal-less drought, Robertson has now buried the puck in each of the first two outings of this series. This is a 50-goal-scorer-caliber player, and he was going to be kept quiet only for so long.
With his confidence seemingly back, it would not be surprising if Robertson keeps the momentum going and registers a goal for the third straight game in this series. Meanwhile, Reilly Smith could also be a threat to score in this contest.
While we should be much more confident in Robertson, Smith is also a dynamic goal-scorer, potting two over his past four games following a season in which he just fell short of the 30-goal mark. After another dominant regular season, Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger has been surprisingly inconsistent during this playoff push.
Over his past nine starts, he is 4-5 with a .880 SV% and 3.49 GAA. The more troubling aspect of these numbers is the Stars' strong two-way play in front of him, which is confirmed by Oettinger's poor underlying metrics.
Having the second-worst postseason (in terms of metrics) out of all playoff-starting goaltenders, Oettinger ranks 15th in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (GSAx/60) at 5-on-5 with a mark of -.425.
Max Domi Less Than 0.5 Hits
Not only has Max Domi failed to record a hit in each of the first two games of this series, but he has stayed south of this figure in seven of his past 10 games. Part of the reason for this trend is his continued decrease in ice time.
Over the past four games, in none of which he has recorded a hit, Domi is averaging around 13.5 minutes per game. However, in the game immediately preceding this stretch, he put together a dominant two-goal and one-assist performance.
So, why the decrease in minutes? The guy is a massive liability on defense.
Especially considering Dallas' propensity to surrender goals over the past two rounds, its two-way play needs to be as strong as ever, and coach Peter DeBoer gets enough scoring output from his top-six so that he does not need to lean on the defensively weak Marchment-Seguin-Domi line as much.
With the decreased playing time and his lack of physicality on defense, Domi should stay below this figure for the fifth straight game.
