The Dallas Stars take on the Winnipeg Jets in Game 5 of this best-of-7 series in the Western Conference semifinals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Thursday. Puck drop from Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is set for 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT / TruTV / Max). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Stars vs. Jets odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.

Series record: Stars lead 3-1

The Stars continued to syphon fuel from the Jets with a 3-1 win in Dallas Tuesday. C Mikael Granlund scored all 3 goals — 1 in each period — for the Stars, who were -153 favorites as the Under (6) cashed. RW Mikko Rantanen had an assist, but he didn’t have a single shot on goal. G Jake Oettinger stopped 31 of 32 shots as the home crowd chanted “Otter’s better, Otter’s better, Otter’s better” referring to the netminder being better than Jets G Connor Hellebuyck.

By the end of the regular season, Hellebuyck was a -20000 favorite to repeat as the Vezina Trophy winner. The Michigan native wasn’t terrible in Game 4. As a matter of fact, it was by far his best performance on the road in these playoffs. He stopped 21 of 24 Dallas shots, and the 3 goals were the first time he allowed fewer than 5 on the road this postseason.

The Jets were 0-for-3 on the power play and are now 1-for-16 in the series — quite a turnaround from the their NHL-best 28.9% conversion rate during the regular season. LW Nikolaj Ehlers scored his third goal of the playoffs for Winnipeg’s lone tally in Game 4 — it tied the game at 1-1 early in the second period. Now the Jets return home, where they’re 5-1 in the playoffs — the one loss coming to the Stars in Game 1.

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Stars at Jets odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:57 p.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): Stars +105 (bet $100 to win $105) | Jets -125 (bet $125 to win $100)Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Stars +1.5 (-250) | Jets -1.5 (+200)Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)Stars at Jets projected goalies

Jake Oettinger (7-4, 2.55 GAA, .917 SV% in 24-25 playoffs) vs. Connor Hellebuyck (5-6, 3.48 GAA, .851 SV%, 1 SO in 24-25 playoffs)

Otter has been great in this series with a .929 SV%. He has seen 113 shots to Hellebuyck’s 95 and has allowed 8 goals to Hellebuyck’s 11. He saw only 3 high-danger chances at 5-on-5 in Game 4 and stopped all of them while saving 26 of 27 at 5-on-5 overall. Oettinger is third in the NHL with 5.8 goals saved above expected in these playoffs. He’ll be tested Thursday, though, as Winnipeg is simply a different team at home.

As mentioned, Hellebuyck was pretty good in the Game 4 loss. He stopped 19 of 20 shots at 5-on-5, and he stopped all 5 of the high-danger chances at 5-on-5. In the 2 home games in this series, Hellebuyck stopped 38 of 40 at 5-on-5 and 10 of 11 high-danger chances at 5-on-5.

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Stars at Jets picks and predictionsPrediction

Jets 3, Stars 1

WINNIPEG (-125) is the way to go. The Jets were shocked in Game 1 at home, but I think that was because their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues took so much out of them physically by going 7 games. They recalibrated in Game 2 by shutting out the Stars 4-0.

I’m willing to take a shot at doubling up with JETS -1.5 (+200). They’re 5-1 at home in the playoffs, and 4 of those 5 were by multiple goals. Outside of their Game 1 loss, the Jets defeated Dallas 4-0, 4-1, and 4-1 at home in the last 3 meetings.

Just don’t bet more than 1½ units between the 2 options: ML and PL.

We’re going UNDER 5.5 (-105). The Under is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings, and the Over only hit once in this series in Game 3 in Dallas.

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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