The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will look to build off a high-scoring Game 1, with Game 2 set to go down tonight from the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Below, you can look at the loan Western Conference matchup on tonight’s NHL slate and at some of our best bets on the FanDuel Sportsbook.
Edmonton Oilers (+146) vs Calgary Flames (-178) Total: 6.5 (O-128/U+104)The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers played one of the wildest playoff games that we’ve seen in recent memory on Wednesday, which ultimately saw the Flames pick up a 9-6 victory. No, this wasn’t a CFL game, as neither goalie could get a save in that contest, and we even saw Mike Smith get pulled in favor of Mikko Koskinen. Smith has already been announced as the Game 2 starter and it’s reasonable to expect him to be much more prepared this time around, after allowing three goals on nine shots in the first meeting.
Smith’s effort aside, it’s no secret that Darnell Nurse and Leon Draisaitl are both playing at less than 100% and they are extremely important to what Edmonton does on both ends of the ice. Draisaitl managed to put up three points in Game 1, but a lot of that can be credited to how poor Jacob Markstrom played in net for the Flames, who should clean up a few things ahead of Game 2. It’s highly unlikely we see Markstrom let in that many goals tonight, while it’s really unpredictable as to the type of game we’re going to see from Smith. Calgary plays a style that should beat up the Oilers defenseman down low and that’s going to put a lot of the onus on Smith to keep pucks out, so it’s going to be a challenge once again for the goalie. Expect Calgary to get better play from Markstrom and for the Flames to push towards another multiple-goal victory.
Even though it’s hard to put a lot of trust in Smith right now, you should likely look towards the Flames bench boss in Darryl Sutter and know he wasn’t thrilled with the track meet we saw in Game 1. There are going to be plenty of adjustments made from both coaches ahead of this game and even though Edmonton isn’t built to play a defensive brand of hockey like Calgary is, there’s an expectation that they’ll focus on limiting goals in this Game 2 as well. You’re getting positive juice on the total with this matchup if you select the under 6.5 at +104 and that value is too good to pass up in this important second game.
Best Bets: Flames puckline (+140), Under 6.5 (+104)
