Two teams that’ve served a lot of time in the penalty box this season, the Calgary Flames and the Dallas Stars clash at the American Airlines Center for a Western Conference showdown. The opening face-off takes place at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 27, and you can watch it live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Calgary Flames at Dallas Stars Odds
Calgary (+130) is currently the underdog to Dallas (-150) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Dallas is 35-27 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.2 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Of the team’s 62 games this season, 33 have gone over the total, while 27 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team’s 21-11 SU at home this year.
The Stars have converted on 19.3 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 14th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.1 percent of all penalties.
As a team, the Stars have been whistled for penalties 4.2 times per game overall this season, and 3.2 per game over their last five match ups. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for just 7.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings, overall.
Sporting a .915 save percentage and 25.3 saves per game, Ben Bishop (24-23-3) has been the best goalkeeper for the Stars this year. If the Stars, however, decide to give him the night off, Dallas may turn to Kari Lehtonen (12-10-10 record, .919 save percentage, 2.29 goals against average).
The Stars will continue relying on offensive production from Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin. Radulov (56 points) is up to 23 goals and 33 assists and has recorded multiple points on 13 separate occasions this year. Seguin has 31 goals and 23 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 37 games.
On the other side of the ice, Calgary is 32-31 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 31 of its contests have gone under the total, while 30 have gone over and just two have pushed. As the away team, the Flames are 18-13 SU.
The Flames have converted on 19.2 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 17th overall and it’s successfully killed off 80.0 percent of all penalties.
Calgary’s skaters have been penalized 4.3 times per game this season, and 5.6 per game over their last five road outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays an unhealthy 16.0 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Mike Smith (29.0 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Calgary. Smith owns a 24-23-6 record, and has registered a .921 save percentage and 2.53 goals against average this year.
Johnny Gaudreau (20 goals, 53 assists) has been one of the top playmakers on offense for the visiting Flames.
Calgary Flames vs. Dallas Stars Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Flames, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The majority (62.9 percent) of Dallas’ wins have come by two or more goals, and the team’s 22-20 overall in games decided by at least two scores. 14 of Calgary’s 32 wins (43.8 percent) have been decided by two or more goals.
- Penalties and power plays could prove to be extremely important in tonight’s game. The Flames are 14-15 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 16-17 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Stars are 14-12 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 21-14 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Dallas is 4-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Calgary is 2-5 in shootouts.
- The under has hit in three of Dallas’ last five outings.
- Dallas has averaged 9.4 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 8.2 giveaways per game (ranked 8th).
- Calgary has averaged 7.2 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 10.0 giveaways per game (ranked 20th overall).
