Flames vs Stars Game 4 Preview, Odds, Picks & Predictions

Does the market have it right? Are the Flames the best bet to win Game 4? Or are the Stars simply not getting the respect they deserve?

Find out as we preview this highly anticipated Western Conference showdown in the first round of the playoffs, analyze the NHL odds and serve up a final betting verdict.

Let’s check the latest NHL lines, stats, injury reports, and NHL odds for Flames vs Stars Game 4. We’ve plenty of NHL picks and predictions.

Flames Drop Two in a Row

This was supposed to be the Calgary Flames’ series to win, as per initial NHL betting markets that cornered it with the Pacific Division champions.

Initial NHL series prices had the Flames tipped as the -340 favorites to win and advance into the second round compared to the Dallas Stars, who were priced as the +280 underdogs.

Following a narrow 1-0 win in Game 1, Calgary’s edge in the series improved markedly. They jumped out to a whopping -700 in series betting markets. The Stars, in the meanwhile, fell back to +500 obscurity.

Dallas turned the tables on the Calgary in Game 2 with a 2-0 shutout that stole home-ice advantage away from the Flames. That victory resulted in another reassessment of the series odds: the Flames moved down to -275 and the Stars to +220.

Entering Game 4 of this series, the market has taken another hit following Dallas’ convincing 4-2 win on Saturday night before a sellout crowd at American Airlines Center.

Now, with the Stars in the ascendancy, the odds are delicately poised on the board between these sides. In fact, the Stars are nudging ahead ever so slightly, priced at -115 to the Flames at -105.

The most fascinating aspect about this NHL series market is that it stands blatantly in stark contrast to the betting online odds for Game 4 that have the Flames firmly favored to win.

Stars On A Roll

The Dallas Stars weren’t given much of a chance in this series by the oddsmakers, but they’ve quickly put paid on any notions of being a pushovers.

From the first game of this first-round playoff series, they’ve  given the Flames all they could handle. In the first two games, the Stars successfully stifled Calgary’s offense with their gritty defending, incredibly holding the Flames to merely a goal.

However, in the last two games, the Stars managed to crack the Flames’ stout defense too. They’ve scored six goals across games 2 and 3, while conceding merely two.

The Stars capitalized on home-ice advantage to take the 2-1 series lead. Goaltender Jake Oettinger had another stellar night between the posts as he stopped 39 of 41 shots for a 0.951 save percentage.

JAKE OETTINGER 2022 PLAYOFF UPDATE:

– 3 Games
– 3 Goals Allowed
– 96 Shots Faced, 93 Saves.

PLAYOFF. MVP. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/C3YeZJOftS

— Nathan “Grav” (@NathanGraviteh) May 8, 2022

Joe Pavelski scored twice while Miro Heiskanen had two assists on the night. Radek Faksa and Roope Hintz scored a goal each to help lift the Stars to victory.

Flames vs Stars Head-to-Head

The tables have flipped on the Calgary Flames in this series quite dramatically with the Dallas Stars taking the commanding advantage. The Stars improve to a 6-4-0 record in the last 10 games between this pair while the Flames slip to a 4-4-2 record over this same span. Also, For the latest NHL odds and betting options, check out Golden Knights vs Kraken.

The total for these last 10 games has gone 5-4-1. In the playoffs, the UNDER has cashed twice in three games. Dallas’ 4-2 win in Game 3 cracked the closing 5 ½ total and delivered the first OVER  of this series.

Flames vs Stars Game 4 Information

• Game: Flames (50-21-11)) vs Stars (46-30-6)
• Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas
• Day/Time: Monday,  May 9, 2022, 9:30 p.m. ET
• Flames vs Stars Live Stream: NHL TV

Flames vs Stars Betting Lines

Flames vs Stars Prediction

The Calgary Flames aren’t out of it yet, but time is running out fast on the Canadians. Thus, the premium on the win in Game 4 is huge as a result.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. If the Flames don’t perk up and somehow get a victory in Monday night’s game, they face the prospect of fighting for their playoff survival in the Saddledome on Wednesday night. And the way this series has gone, that’s not a hole they want to find themselves in because it could very well be lights out.

For the Flames to fina any success, their offense needs to be resuscitated from its coma. Of course, that’s easier said than done when the Stars have executed the perfect gameplan, relying heavily on superb defense and outstanding goaltending to outmuscle their division rivals.

There’s this idea that the Flames are too good to go down 3-1 knocking about in various NHL betting circles. As if, that’s something tangible to hang on to when betting.

Let’s face it, good teams fall flat in the playoffs. So, too, underdogs can put together incredible runs.  It happens. Case in point, the Colorado Avalanche was eliminated prematurely in 2021 after winning the Presidents’ Trophy and emerging as the runaway Stanley Cup favorites! And the Montreal Canadiens defied the NHL odds in a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup final.

Calgary’s flame burned brightly in the regular season, but it’s fast burning out in the playoffs. Perhaps, they’ll come through as the firm favorites in Game 4. Thereby, salvaging this series before returning to Calgary. However,  based on the last two games, it’s hard to bet on it. Indeed, the Stars as the small home underdogs practically leap off the page as the value bet.