The Calgary Flames (18-14-5) and Dallas Stars (20-13-4) meet Sunday in a clash of the two current Western Conference wild-card teams as the Flames head to Big D to play the Stars at American Airlines Center at 7 p.m. ET. We analyze the Flames-Stars sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Flames at Stars: Projected starting goalies
David Rittich vs. Ben Bishop
Rittich is 15-8-5, including a 6-6-2 road record, with a 2.77 goals against average and .913 save percentage. Both his GAA and SV% are ranked 22nd in the NHL.
Bishop is due for a bounce-back game at home after a stinker against the Florida Panthers Friday when he allowed six goals on only 20 shots. He is 9-4-2 with a 1.76 GAA and .943 SV% at home compared to a 3-4-1 record, 3.31 GAA and .895 SV% on the road.
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Flames at Stars: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 8:45 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Stars 3, Flames 1
Moneyline (ML)
Don’t be fooled by where the Flames are in the current Western Conference standings, they are not a very good team. The Flames are ranked 23rd in the NHL in moneyline balance (-$419). Given Bishop’s success at home, the Stars’ 12-5-2 home record and the Flames’ 8-9-2 road record, I like the STARS (-154) on the moneyline.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The puck line is a scary proposition so I’m PASSING on the Stars (-1.5, +170). While the Stars defense and goaltending are elite, their offense struggles at times, scoring only 99 goals so far this season (ranked 25th) and has one player in the top-50 in points — C Tyler Seguin. The Stars offense doesn’t inspire much confidence, and the Flames defense and goaltending are due for a good game after giving up four goals in each of their last three games.
Over/Under (O/U)
Hammer the UNDER 5.5 (-121). The Stars are 12-23 against the Over/Under and the Flames are 13-22 on the OU. The Under has cashed in the last four Flames-Stars games. Dallas has allowed 2.43 goals per game and only 5.08 goals per game are being scored in Stars games, both NHL lows. Each squad has a strong penalty kill unit — Calgary ranks fourth (84.4%) and Dallas ranks sixth (84.0%). They’re also unimpressive on the power play with Calgary scoring 18.0% of the time (ranked 19th) and Dallas at 17.3% (T-21).
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