NHL Playoffs (Round 1): Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames
Flames vs. Stars First-Round Preview
The last of eight first-round matchups (and one of three series with Canadian teams) is scheduled for Tuesday night when the Calgary Flames host the Dallas Stars.
Calgary is a big favourite laying 2 to 1 odds, not just to win the opening game, but to handle Dallas easily and advance in the playoffs. It's easy to see why.
The Flames enjoyed a spectacular season, stingy on defence while ranking 5th in the league in scoring. Their +85 goal differential smashes the comparative stats put up by the inconsistent Stars, who ended their season by surrendering 8 more goals than they scored. Dallas also squeaked by on many wins, leading the league in one-goal victories, with 28.
Everyone agrees the Flames are the much better team, although there's also some justifiable suspicion that Dallas could come up big in the net and frustrate the Flames. We shall see about that.
Game 1 will probably set the pace for what to expect the rest of the way.
The puck drops at the Scotiabank Saddledome for Game 1 at 9 pm EDT.
Spreads.ca offers the following odds on the opening game:
Prediction (powered by Pointspreads.ca):
Both Calgary and Dallas have well-deserved reputations as two teams that play solid defence. However, the Flames are often underestimated as a scoring threat. Nonetheless, we still the UNDER is worth a bet.
Flames' goaltender Jacob Markstrom carried the bulk of the load in the regular season, going 37-15-9 with a 2.22 goals-against average and stellar .922 save percentage with a league-leading 9 shutouts in 63 games. Stars' goalie Jake Oettinger went 30-15-1 with a 2.53 GAA.
We think at least one of these goaltenders will become a shot-stopper, so we lean UNDER in this opening game.
