For the first time since 1991, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will duke it out in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (Game 1 is at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN). The Flames, who won the Pacific Division by seven points over the Oilers, are -190 favorites to win The Battle of Alberta.
And while that may seem a steep price against an Oilers team that features an in-form Connor McDavid, it’s hard to argue with Calgary’s overall body of work this season.
Oilers vs. Flames Game 1 odds
Odds provided by BetMGM
Spread: Oilers +1.5 (-190) vs. Flames -1;5 (+155)
Moneyline: Oilers (+135) vs. Flames (-160)
Total: Over 6 (-120) | Under 6 (+100)
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Oilers vs. Flames Game 1 preview
The Flames finished the regular season with the best 5-on-5 goal differential, fourth-best expected goals rate, and fourth-best high-danger scoring chance rate. Calgary was an elite team all season.
And there is a chance that the Flames’ ability to score will be undervalued in the early part of this series. Calgary is coming off a Game 7 overtime victory as a heavy favorite over the Dallas Stars, and while the series went down to the wire, there’s no arguing that Calgary dominated the Dallas in that series but just ran into one of the best goaltending performances we’ve seen in a best-of-7.
The Flames only scored 15 goals in their seven-game series victory over the Stars, but they created 29 expected goals. In other words, the Flames under-performed by almost as many goals as they scored in Round 1. Mike Smith has been terrific in goal for Edmonton for a couple of months now and he was on song against the Kings in Round 1, but it’s hard to imagine the 40-year-old coming close to what Oettinger did against the Flames.
Edmonton Oilers v Calgary FlamesNHLI via Getty ImagesCalgary’s scoring depth should shine through in this matchup and with Leon Draisaitl clearly not close to 100%, the Flames should have too much for the Oilers, who did look leaky in Round 1 against the Kings.
The narrative surrounding the Flames coming into this series is that they are a stingy defensive team with great goaltending, but they may have trouble scoring. That storyline doesn’t tell the whole story about what happened to Calgary in Round 1 and we know this is a deep offense with plenty of firepower.
Against a less robust defense and in a more wide-open game environment, Calgary’s offense – which is certainly due for some offensive regression – should `be able to post a crooked number against the Oilers. Edmonton’s ability to create offense from nothing through McDavid is always a concern, but with Draisaitl banged up, the Flames should be able to get separation in Game 1 and cover the puck line.
Oilers vs. Flames prediction
Flames -1.5 (+158) — FanDuel Sportsbook
