Opening Series Odds Favor Stars at -136 Over Flames in Western Conference First Round
- The Dallas Stars are the -136 favorites to overcome the Calgary Flames in their Stanley Cup Western Conference quarter-final series
- Dallas ended an eight-game losing streak with a shootout win over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. Should the Stars be favored?
- Analysis of the odds and picks and predictions for the outcome of this set follows in the story below
The last time the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames met in the playoffs, Calgary was newly-located to Alberta from Atlanta and the Stars were still the Minnesota North Stars.
Yeah, it’s been a while.
That was in the spring of 1981 when the Stars toppled the Flames in the Stanley Cup semi-finals. Nearly four decades later, they meet again in the postseason in mid-August.
Once again, it’s the Stars who are picked to emerge victorious. Dallas is the -136 chalk to eliminate Calgary.
Flames vs Stars Series Odds
| Team | Odds at DraftKings |
|---|---|
| Calgary Flames | +112 |
| Dallas Stars | -136 |
Odds taken Aug. 10
The Flames, who beat the Winnipeg Jets in the play-in round, are +112 underdogs.
Stars Are Hurting
Dallas finished up the round-robin portion with a 2-1 shootout win over the St. Louis Blues to grab the third seed in the Western Conference. The Stars also brought a halt to their eight-game losing streak.
That’s the good news. On the flip side of the ledger, Dallas played against the Blues without goalie Ben Bishop and center Tyler Seguin. In the mystery ailment system the NHL is deploying in their playoff bubbles, both are simply listed as unfit to play.
Bowness said Bishop and Seguin are both day-to-day when asked about their availability for Game 1.
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) August 9, 2020
There’s no certainty whether either will be ready for Game 1 of this best-of-seven series on Tuesday at 5:30 pm EST and that’s disconcerting news for Dallas backers.
Bishop was a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2018-19. Seguin led the team in scoring this season with 50 points. That’s 11 better than any other player on the team.
Flames In Form
Eleven different Flames scored during their four-game play-in round win over the Winnipeg Jets – Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Johnny Gaudreau, Sam Bennett, Dillon Dube, Milan Lucic, Matthew Tkachuk, Sean Monahan, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Andersson and Andrew Mangiapane.
Monahan (two), Gaudreau (two) and Lindholm (two), Calgary’s top forward line, all hit for multiple goals. They combined for 12 points during the series.
See you soon, @DallasStars. pic.twitter.com/xTGMe7dTAv
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) August 9, 2020
Calgary goalie Cam Talbot finished the set with a 1.51 goals-against average and .945 save percentage. He posted his first playoff shutout since 2017 when Talbot was with the Edmonton Oilers.
He’s the first netminder in league history to win a postseason series for both of the NHL’s Alberta-based teams.
Flames Were Stars
Calgary won two of three meetings when facing the Stars this season. However, prior to this season, Dallas had won six in a row from the Flames.
The special teams of the Flames grounded the Jets. Calgary was 29.4% on the power play, while the penalty kill worked at 88.2% and scored a shorthanded goal.
Flames vs Stars Head-to-Head Stats
| 2-0-1 | 2019-20 Record | 1-1-1 |
| 9 | Goals For | 6 |
| 6 | Goals Against | 9 |
| 5-17 | Power Play | 1-9 |
| 15-17 | Penalty Kill | 10-12 |
| 46.0 | Faceoff Wins | 50.3 |
| 33.2 | Shots per Game | 30.7 |
| 27.5 | Shots Allowed per Game | 31.7 |
| 0-1-0 | Previous Playoff Series | 1-0-0 |
The top seed in the Western Conference in last year’s playoffs, the Flames seem to find themselves after Geoff Ward replaced Bill Peters as coach. Calgary was 24-15-3 under Ward’s tutelage.
Although Calgary ended up 20th overall in the NHL in goals, from January 1 onward the Flames were the NHL’s seventh-most potent offense. After February 1, they ranked #2 in the league in production.
A Calgary Stampede
For a team that lists Seguin, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski and Alexander Radulov on their roster, the Stars sure struggle to light red lamps. Dallas was 26th in the NHL in offense this season.
Dallas scored just four goals in three round-robin games, while allowing 10 goals. The Stars power play was a dismal 11. 1%.
CONFIRMED: The Dallas Stars will take on the Calgary #Flames in the first round of the #StanleyCup Playoffs! #GoStars pic.twitter.com/oXSBgjLobe
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) August 9, 2020
Meanwhile, Calgary is getting goaltending. Talbot outplayed Vezina favorite Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets. The Flames are stellar on defense, solid on special teams and goals are being contributed all throughout the Calgary lineup. Each of their top nine forwards registered a goal during the opening round.
The Flames were relentless on the forecheck against Winnipeg. Calgary forward Sam Bennett is second in the NHL with 22 postseason hits.
This series has upset written all over it.
Pick: Calgary Flames (+112)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
