Calgary Flames Stanley Cup Playoff Preview

Calgary Flames are unlikely to spark into life in the playoffs and the NHL betting odds reflect their lack of heat in the scoring department in 2008.

It was hard to know what to expect out of Calgary when the Mike Keenan experiment began at the start of the season. It probably left more than a few NHL betting fans scratching their heads as to whether or not it was worth dropping any cash on the Flames on the Stanley Cup odds. The general consensus was that it would either be another Keenan success story, or another Keenan catastrophe. The actual result was something more in the middle.

The Flames finished the season in seventh place in the West, but they could have been much higher if not for some very inconsistent play and a lack of scoring punch behind 50-goal shooter Jarome Iginla. Daymond Langkow notched 30 goals and Kristian Huselius added another 25 goals, but neither strikes fear into their opponents when streaking down the ice to the net.

Alex Tanguay was a big disappointment and ended up in Keenan’s doghouse for most of the season after scoring only 18 goals. In the end, Calgary ended up in the middle of the pack in goals scored in the league and wound up scoring only two more goals than they allowed all season.

The Flames’ defensive corps is led by hard-hitting Dion Phaneuf, who along with delivering some bone-crushing checks this season also recorded a career-high 60 points. However, Phaneuf can’t do it all by himself on the blueline and it will be up to Robyn Regehr and Cory Sarich to step up and provide some support for the Norris Trophy candidate, as the Flames look to shut down a high-powered and veteran-laden Colorado Avalanche team in the first round.

The Flames’ defensemen may have the added confidence of knowing that former playoff hero Miikka Kiprusoff is between the pipes, but during the regular season Kiprusoff wasn’t as reliable as he has been in the past. Statistically speaking, Kiprusoff has one of his worst seasons to date as his goals against average jumped to 2.69 and his save percentage dipped to .906. Kiprusoff also started a career-high 76 games this year, so the Flames better hope he doesn’t run out of gas in the postseason.

The Flames aren’t even on the NHL betting radar heading into the opening round, as they are a long-shot underdog on the Stanley Cup odds. Things aren’t much better on the Western Conference NHL odds list, where the Flames are currently listed as high as 19.00 to win the West.