Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Game 2 Prediction, Playoff Odds
For all the offensive talent in this series, a 1-0 Flames victory Tuesday came as a surprise. Calgary averaged just over 3.5 goals per game this season, which makes Game 1 hurt even more for Dallas as they managed to shut down Calgary but couldn’t find the back of the net even once.
Game 2 at the Scotiabank Saddledome gets going at 10 p.m. EDT with the home Flames a -230 moneyline favourite and the total set at 5.5 on the NHL odds.
Stars vs. Flames NHL Playoffs Betting Odds
Tuesday’s loss dropped Dallas to 1-5 in their last contests on the road, and improved Calgary to 26-9-7 on home ice this season. Even after the loss, Dallas is still 7-3 overall in their last 10 trips to Calgary.
Scoring has been a bit of an issue for the Stars, who were quite one dimensional this season too. In Dallas’ last 10 games they have scored over three goals just one time and that took place when an emergency back up goalie was in net for Anaheim. Calgary’s also scored four total goals in their last three games, so if you’re looking for a trendy play in Game 2 it’d be the under.
Dallas Stars
The Stars’ top line of Jason Robertson, Joe Pavelski, and Roope Hintz had an extremely quiet night in Game 1 with two shots and zero points combined. The trio accounted for nearly half of Dallas’ offence this season and needs to step it up if their squad is to pull off the upset.
Jake Oettinger stopped 25 shots in his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs start. The 23-year-old goalie posted a career-best 30 wins and .914 save percentage in 46 starts this season.
Bottom line is, 16 shots won’t cut it for the Stars. Dallas needs to generate more offence, whether it’s their top trio or secondary contributors like Tyler Seguin or captain Jamie Benn.
Calgary Flames
With all of Calgary’s scorers up front, the defenders sometime get lost in the mix. Defenders like Noah Hanifin, who lost his partner Rasmus Andersson at the end of the first period after Andersson engaged with Stars’ defenceman John Klingberg in a secondary fight resulting in game misconducts for each. Hanifin still logged over 25 minutes of ice in Game 1, but it was veteran Chris Tanev leading the team with 25:51 of shutdown time Tuesday for Calgary.
Calgary’s defence made it an extremely easy night for Jacob Markstrom, who recorded a 16-save shutout in Game 1. The shutout was Markstrom’s second of his career and first as a member of the Flames.
DAL
CAL