Check out a top prediction and pick for tonight’s Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers matchup in a battle between rivals on the NHL Tuesday slate.

Exactly three weeks after their first meeting of the season, the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers square off once more in a rivalry tilt between Western Conference contenders. The side in Victory Green emerged with the win last time out, but with a key superstar sidelined for this game due to suspension, this rematch may see a different result.

Here’s a Stars vs. Oilers prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tuesday’s contest.

Stars vs. Oilers prediction, preview

These teams are incredibly well-acquainted after three consecutive meetings in the Western Conference Final, each of which the Oilers won. However, regular-season hockey is entirely different than postseason puck. While the stakes may be lower, this should still be a high-intensity clash between contenders.

The Stars are the visitors this time and remain one of the top teams in the league with 30 points in 22 games despite missing a number of key contributors due to injury. They fall top-10 in both goals for (3.18) and against (2.73) per game, showing signs of a Stanley Cup worthy roster once again. Jason Robertson — contract extension looming — paces skaters with 28 points behind a real heater with 15 in his last seven games. He’s tied with Mikko Rantanen, who will miss this game following a one-game suspension for boarding earlier in the week. That’s a significant loss for Dallas here, so it’ll be up to Wyatt Johnston (21 P), Miro Heiskanen (19 P) and Roope Hintz (17 P) to pull more of the slack in the star’s absence. While it’s been an up-and-down campaign for starting netminder Jake Oettinger, his 2.72 GAA and .902 SV% are at least respectable, though he’ll have demons to exorcise against the Oilers. Of course, we have to mention the Stars’ power play which sits second-best in the NHL at 29.3%, though a 75.7% rate on the penalty kill has caused problems for the last month.

Looking toward the home team, the Oilers have 25 points through 24 games amidst a 4-4-2 slide over their last 10 contests. One almost has to wonder how Connor McDavid feels after signing a hometown discount type of deal to stay here, but regardless, Edmonton typically does start slow anyways. The Oil are 15th in goals for (3.08), a bit of an underperformance, but the goals against slides all the way to 29th (3.54) ahead of only the Blues, Maple Leafs and Canucks. That’s not great company, though it’s worth noting they’ve been operating without Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Kasperi Kananen, and Jake Walman as well. If he can return Tuesday, Nugent-Hopkins would provide a nice boost with 16 points in 16 games, as he was third on the team prior to the injury. Of course, McDavid’s 33 points rank among the NHL’s elite, as do Draisaitl’s 28 (with 14 goals, tied for second-most in the league). Evan Bouchard (28 P) and Jack Roslovic (17 P) complement the star power. Goaltender Stuart Skinner’s GAA sits at 3.00 with an .885 SV%, and as for special teams, the Oilers are third in PP% just behind the Stars (28.8%) and 13th in PK% (82.3%).

Stars vs. Oilers pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Oilers as -142 favorites on the Moneyline tonight, while the Stars come in at +120. The total sits at 6.5 combined goals.

Dallas won the last matchup between these sides on November 4 with a 4-3 final in a shootout, but that game came with both sides largely healthy. How the Stars respond without Rantanen active will prove quite interesting in this one, especially since he tallied three points with two goals and an assist in that previous win. Tyler Seguin likely shifts up to the top line in his teammates’ absence, but the blue line is a much larger concern with a second pairing of AHL’ers with Thomas Harley and Ilya Lyubushkin both sidelined as well. That pairing will certainly be picked on by the Oilers’ superstar scorers.

One interesting trend is that Dallas has been the more physical team this season, logging 457 hits to Edmonton’s 415, and in two fewer games at that. The Oilers tended to enforce their will during past playoff series, but the “extra 1%” Stars head coach (and former Oil assistant) Glen Gulutzan has made the team’s mantra has made a difference thus far this season and could help keep this one close. Dallas is notably 7-1-3 on the road while the Oilers are 5-1-2 at home, but the Rantanen suspension and injury-riddled defense likely proves too much to cope with. Watch for the home team to come out on top.

Best Bet: EDM Oilers 60 Min Line (+105)