Boston’s power play ranks 9th in the NHL at 25 percent, while Dallas’ penalty kill ranks 4th at 89.3 percent. That is one number to know before checking the Bruins vs Stars odds for Tuesday, October 20, 2026, when the Boston Bruins (7-2-0 this season) visit the Dallas Stars (4-3-1 this season) at American Airlines Center. Puck drop is 8:00 PM ET (7:00 PM local) in Dallas, Texas; TV: ESPN / Sportsnet+.
Storyline: Boston enters Tuesday at 7-2-0 after a 4-1 win at Los Angeles (Oct. 17). Dallas enters Tuesday at 4-3-1 after a 4-0 win at Chicago (Oct. 17). Dallas’ games have gone under the DraftKings closing total in eight of eight tries this season (DraftKings via ESPN). The teams split two meetings last season (NHL.com).
Bruins vs Stars Odds & Line Movement: Moneyline, Puck Line, Total
| Matchup | Boston Bruins @ Dallas Stars |
|---|---|
| 2026-27 Records | Boston Bruins 7-2-0 | Dallas Stars 4-3-1 |
| 2025-26 Records | Boston Bruins 45-27-10 | Dallas Stars 50-20-12 |
| Head Coaches | BOS: Marco Sturm (2nd season) | DAL: Glen Gulutzan (2nd season) |
| Puck Line | BOS +1.5 (-175) | DAL -1.5 (+145) |
| Moneyline | Boston Bruins: +142 | Dallas Stars: -170 |
| Total | O/U 5.5 (o-125 / u+105) |
| Opening Line (DraftKings) | BOS +142 / DAL -170 | total 5.5 |
| Venue | American Airlines Center (Dallas, Texas) |
| Date / Time | Tuesday, October 20, 2026 — 8:00 PM ET (7:00 PM local) |
| TV / How to Watch | ESPN / Sportsnet+ |
| Probable Starting Goalies | BOS: Jeremy Swayman (probable, per ESPN; not confirmed) | DAL: Jake Oettinger (probable, per ESPN; not confirmed) |
Bruins vs Stars odds via DraftKings (through ESPN) as of Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, ~1:35 PM ET. Lines move, so check your sportsbook before puck drop. ESPN lists Jeremy Swayman (Boston) and Jake Oettinger (Dallas) as probable starters, not yet confirmed at research time.
In the Bruins vs Stars odds market, DraftKings opened Dallas at -170 and Boston at +142 on the moneyline, and both prices were unchanged as of Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, ~1:35 PM ET. The total has held at 5.5 (over -125, under +105) since it opened. On the puck line, Dallas -1.5 opened at +150 and is +145. Opening prices are the first numbers DraftKings posted, per ESPN.
Boston Bruins Preview: Pastrnak Leads a 7-2-0 Start
2025-26 recap: Boston went 45-27-10 (100 points), finished fourth in the Atlantic Division and lost to Buffalo in six games in the first round. David Pastrnak led the team with 100 points (29 goals, 71 assists), Morgan Geekie scored 39 goals, Pavel Zacha scored 30 and McAvoy had 61 points.
Offseason moves: Boston acquired forward JJ Peterka from Utah on June 26 for two first-round selections (2026 and 2028) after Viktor Arvidsson left for Detroit. The Bruins signed defenseman Connor Clifton, and forward James Hagens, the No. 7 selection in the 2025 draft, made the opening roster at 19 (NHL.com, Boston Globe).
Key players & coach: Pastrnak, Peterka, Elias Lindholm, Geekie, Zacha, Casey Mittelstadt, Fraser Minten, Hagens and Mark Kastelic lead the forwards. Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Will Borgen, Clifton, Mason Lohrei and Frederic Brunet are on defense. Marco Sturm is in his second season as coach.
Season so far: Boston is 7-2-0 through nine games, with 34 goals scored and 19 allowed. Results: a 3-0 win over the Rangers (Sept. 29), a 4-3 overtime win at Winnipeg (Oct. 2), a 4-1 loss at Minnesota (Oct. 3), a 4-1 loss to Ottawa (Oct. 5), a 6-1 win over Utah (Oct. 8), a 5-1 win over Philadelphia (Oct. 10), a 6-3 win at San Jose (Oct. 13), a 4-2 win at Anaheim (Oct. 16) and a 4-1 win at Los Angeles (Oct. 17). David Pastrnak has 12 points (four goals, eight assists), and Fraser Minten has eight points (four goals, four assists) (NHL.com).
Our Bruins vs Kings preview from Oct. 17 has more on how the Bruins came into their last game.
Boston Bruins Injury Report
Injury news can move the Bruins vs Stars odds before puck drop. Pavel Zacha (upper body) is day to day (ESPN).
Dallas Stars Preview: Rantanen Leads a 4-3-1 Start
2025-26 recap: Dallas went 50-20-12 (112 points), finished second in the Central Division and lost to Minnesota in six games in the first round after reaching the Western Conference Final in each of the previous three seasons. The Stars ranked second in goals against per game (2.71) and second on the power play (28.6 percent) (NHL.com). Jason Robertson led the team with 96 points (45 goals, 51 assists), and Wyatt Johnston scored 45 goals, including an NHL-high 27 on the power play.
Offseason moves: Robertson signed a one-year, $12 million contract on July 21. Dallas brought back forward Joel Kiviranta on a one-year contract, traded forward Mavrik Bourque (20 goals) and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin to Nashville, and lost defenseman Alexander Petrovic to Florida (NHL.com).
Key players & coach: Robertson, Johnston, Mikko Rantanen (77 points last season), Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Sam Steel and Radek Faksa lead the forwards. Miro Heiskanen (63 points), Thomas Harley, Esa Lindell, Lian Bichsel, Tyler Myers and Nils Lundkvist are on defense. Glen Gulutzan is in his second season as coach.
Season so far: Dallas is 4-3-1 through eight games, with 20 goals scored and 13 allowed. Results: a 4-0 loss to St. Louis (Oct. 2), a 2-1 loss at Nashville (Oct. 3), a 5-0 win over San Jose (Oct. 5), a 4-0 win at Buffalo (Oct. 8), a 2-1 shootout loss at Pittsburgh (Oct. 10), a 3-2 loss to Colorado (Oct. 13), a 3-2 shootout win at Colorado (Oct. 14) and a 4-0 win at Chicago (Oct. 17). Mikko Rantanen has eight points (two goals, six assists), and Jason Robertson has seven points (three goals, four assists) (NHL.com).
Our Stars vs Blackhawks preview from Oct. 17 has more on how the Stars came into their last game.
Dallas Stars Injury Report
Any late change on this list can also shift the Bruins vs Stars odds. Oskar Back (finger) and Matt Duchene (abdomen) are on injured reserve; Luke Krys (undisclosed) and Cameron Hughes (upper body) are on the injured non-roster list (ESPN).
Goalie Matchup: Swayman vs Oettinger
The goalie matchup is one of the biggest inputs in the Bruins vs Stars odds. ESPN lists Jeremy Swayman (Boston) and Jake Oettinger (Dallas) as probable starters, not yet confirmed at research time. Here is how each team’s goalies have performed so far in 2026-27 (NHL.com).
Boston Bruins Goalies
Jeremy Swayman has started seven games and is 6-1-0 with a .934 save percentage (184 saves on 197 shots). Most recently, he made 25 saves on 26 shots in a 4-1 win at Los Angeles (Oct. 17). Michael DiPietro has started two games and is 1-1-0 with a .912 save percentage (52 saves on 57 shots). Most recently, he made 26 saves on 28 shots in a 4-2 win at Anaheim (Oct. 16). ESPN lists Jeremy Swayman as the probable starter for Tuesday (not confirmed at research time).
Dallas Stars Goalies
Jake Oettinger has started six games and is 3-2-1 with a .952 save percentage (120 saves on 126 shots). Most recently, he stopped all 19 shots in a 4-0 win at Chicago (Oct. 17). Casey DeSmith has started two games and is 1-1-0 with a .925 save percentage (49 saves on 53 shots). Most recently, he made 25 saves on 27 shots in a 3-2 shootout win at Colorado (Oct. 14). ESPN lists Jake Oettinger as the probable starter for Tuesday (not confirmed at research time).
Bruins vs Stars Odds: Key Betting Trends
Here is the season data behind the Bruins vs Stars odds. These are factual season numbers only through games before Tuesday, from NHL.com, with over/under counts measured against DraftKings closing totals via ESPN.
- Bruins home/road: Boston is 3-1-0 at home and 4-1-0 on the road (NHL.com).
- Bruins recent form: Boston is 5-0-0 in its last five games, with 25 goals scored and 8 allowed in that stretch (NHL.com).
- Bruins totals: Boston’s games have gone over the DraftKings closing total four times and under five times in nine games with a posted total, averaging 5.9 combined goals per game (DraftKings via ESPN; NHL.com).
- Bruins special teams: Boston’s power play is converting 25 percent (9th in the NHL), and its penalty kill is at 81.2 percent (15th) (NHL.com).
- Bruins scoring: Boston has scored 34 goals and allowed 19 in 9 games (3.78 goals per game) (NHL.com).
- Stars home/road: Dallas is 1-2-0 at home and 3-1-1 on the road (NHL.com).
- Stars recent form: Dallas is 3-1-1 in its last five games, with 14 goals scored and 7 allowed in that stretch (NHL.com).
- Stars totals: Dallas’ games have gone over the DraftKings closing total zero times and under eight times in eight games with a posted total, averaging 4.1 combined goals per game (DraftKings via ESPN; NHL.com).
- Stars special teams: Dallas’ power play is converting 15 percent (24th in the NHL), and its penalty kill is at 89.3 percent (4th) (NHL.com).
- Stars scoring: Dallas has scored 20 goals and allowed 13 in 8 games (2.5 goals per game) (NHL.com).
- Combined totals: Across both teams, games have gone over the DraftKings closing total four times and under 13 times in 17 games with a posted total, against a 5.5 total for this game (DraftKings via ESPN).
Bruins vs Stars Head-to-Head
2025-26 series: The teams split two meetings last season. Boston won 6-3 at home on March 31, 2026. Dallas won 6-2 at home on Jan. 20 (NHL.com). The two games produced 17 total goals, an average of 8.5 per game.
2026-27 schedule: Tuesday’s game is meeting one of two between the teams this season (NHL.com). Past meetings are history only; the current Bruins vs Stars odds are in the table above.
How to Watch Bruins vs Stars
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Puck drop: 8:00 PM ET (7:00 PM local)
Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
TV: ESPN has the game nationally in the U.S. In Canada, Sportsnet+ carries it (NHL.com).
Schedule spot: Boston last played on Oct. 17 (2 days off before Tuesday) and hosts Nashville on Oct. 22. Dallas last played on Oct. 17 (2 days off before Tuesday) and hosts Winnipeg on Oct. 22. Neither team played on Monday, Oct. 19, so neither is on the second night of a back-to-back (NHL.com).
Live stats, lineups and the box score will be on the Bruins vs Stars gamecenter on NHL.com, and the official Dallas Stars site posts team news and lineup notes.
New to hockey odds? Our NHL odds guide explains how the moneyline, puck line and total work, and the Cappers Direct free content hub collects our free daily breakdowns.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Bruins vs Stars
What time is Bruins vs Stars on October 20, 2026?
Puck drop is 8:00 PM ET (7:00 PM local) on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The Bruins vs Stars odds in this preview were last updated on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026.
What are the Bruins vs Stars odds and puck line?
For the Bruins vs Stars odds, DraftKings lists Boston +1.5 (-175) and Dallas -1.5 (+145) on the puck line as of Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, ~1:35 PM ET. The moneyline is Boston Bruins +142 and Dallas Stars -170, and the total is 5.5.
Where can I watch Bruins vs Stars?
ESPN has the game nationally in the U.S. In Canada, Sportsnet+ carries it (NHL.com).
Who is starting in goal for Bruins vs Stars?
ESPN lists Jeremy Swayman (Boston) and Jake Oettinger (Dallas) as probable starters, not yet confirmed at research time.