Goals Aplenty in Series Opener
The Calgary Flames took the 1-0 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers, kicking off the first Battle of Alberta in over three decades in fine style at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday night. As expected, following Calgary’s convincing start, bookmakers corner Game 2 of this Western Conference semifinal series with the Flames again.
BetUS tips Calgary as the -170 home favorite while the Oilers are priced as +150 to clinch the win. The total is projected to 6 ½, with a slight lean toward the over at -125 odds.
Let’s check the latest NHL lines, stats, injury reports, and NHL odds for Oilers vs Calgary. We’ve plenty of NHL picks and predictions.
Oilers Lose a Cracker
The first Battle of Alberta since 1991 didn’t disappoint, although the Edmonton Oilers came out on the wrong side of the 15-goal thriller.
It’s not often a team scores six goals and loses the game. Head coach Jay Woodcroft observed as much when he reflected on the game. “We fought back and made it a game, but we can’t feel good about that in anyway because you scored six goals in a game and found a way to not win it.”
Goalie Mike Smith was caught napping right out of the gates, conceding two goals in the first 51 seconds to the hosts. Both scores came on the first two shots on net by Calgary. Smith’s night was cut, short, though after conceding a third goal on the tenth shot.
Edmonton settled down after that rough start, but the damage seemed to be already done. Connor McDavid slipped a goal past Jacob Markstrom to get the Oilers on the board, but the first period ended with the Flames up 3-1.
Things went from bad to worse early in the second period. Before Edmonton knew what hit it, the score was 5-1 to Calgary. Then it was 6-2.
The Oilers did rally in the second period, scoring four goals to draw within one goal. However, the Flames assumed control in the third period to seal the win. Backup goalie Mikko Koskinen finished with 32 of 37 saves for an .865 save percentage.
“It wasn’t an ideal start from our group. We all feel like we let each other down & we’ll be better because of it.”
Hear from Smith as he speaks ahead of Game 2. pic.twitter.com/BKKTqBLR7X
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 19, 2022
Flames Firing on All Cylinders
If you’re a Calgary Flames fan, you have to like the outcome of the first game of this series. They certainly validated their fancied betting odds to win the series.
As per BetUS, the Flames opened as the -200 favorites and the Oiler as the +170 underdogs. Now, with Game 1 in the books, the Flames are the runaway favorites at -400 to win the series while the Oilers are the +320 undergods.
The NHL odds series prices have moved, clearly in knee-jerk reaction to the first game. It remains to be see whether this was a true harbinger of what’s to come or whether these two teams will settle into this series for the long haul. Edmonton fans certainly hope so.
The Flames were all over the Oilers, dominating them at every turn. Matthew Tkachuk was the player of the game, scoring a hat trick to help lift his side to victory. However, he wasn’t feeling celebratory after the game, calling it one of Calgary’s worst games so far.
“Not good. Not good at all,” Tkachuk said. “Probably our worst game of the playoffs so far. We got super-lucky.
Even head coach Darryl Sutter called it a strange game, though he wasn’t going to apologize for the way they won. “Take the win. Move on,” he said.
“We talk about what our game plan is for the series. To make sure we’re on task for that and make sure we try to execute that.”#Flames head coach Darryl Sutter on the message ahead of Game 2 tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/P55gMQ66Em
— y – Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) May 19, 2022
Oilers vs Flames Head-to-Head
The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames were tied 5-5-0 in their head-to-head ahead of Game 1 of this series and 2-2-0 this season after both sides won their homestands.
With the 9-6 win in the bag, the Flames improved to a 6-5-0 record in their last 11 games and the Oilers slipped to a 5-6-0 record. The total has cashed on the over in six of the last 11 meetings.
Oilers vs Flames Game 2 Information
- Game: Oilers (49-27-6) vs Flames (50-21-11))
- Location: ScotiaBank Saddledome, Calgary
- Day/Time: Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET
- Oilers vs Flames LiveStream: NHL.TV
Oilers vs Flames Betting Lines
Oilers vs Flames Prediction
The first game in the highly anticipated reprisal of this storied Alberta rivalry surpassed the buzz and hype. It was insane, a veritable scoring bonanza with both teams taking turns to showcase their scoring prowess.
On that score, the best bet in this game may well be the over for the total. Surely, the 6½ total currently on offer will be surpassed again. The final game of their regular season series saw the Flames beat the Oilers 9-5. That’s 18 goals for the Flames and 11 for the Oilers in the last two meetings between this pair.
In the spirit of the playoffs and a protracted competition, bettors are hoping the Oilers will rise up in Game 2 to level the series. It doesn’t hurt that a bet on the Oilers is set to tempting +150 odds on the moneyline. However, Smith will need to be sharper if he gets the start and Edmonton’s top scores (McDavid and Leon Draisaitl) will need to be on point.
The Flames will be keen to bank on home-ice advantage and take the 2-0 series lead. They did a lot of things better than the Oilers in Game 1, including outshooting their neighbors 48-28. As well, they had twice the XGF% at 66.7 than the Oilers (33.3%).
Pick: Calgary Flames -1½ (+145)
Pick: Over 6 ½ (-125)
