The Colorado Avalanche travel to Canada and the Saddledome Arena to take on the Calgary Flames in a battle between two playoff teams from last year.
The reigning Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche started their season off right with a 5-2 home victory against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks.
The Avs are title favorites yet again and with good reason. They are excellent up and down their roster and have returned all of their main pieces from their title winning campaign.
The Flames on the other side open the season in their raucous Saddledome Arena with similar aspirations, even if they have some new faces on their roster.
Johhny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk departed in the offseason, leading many to believe that the Flames might be heading towards a bit of a rebuild.
However, bringing in stud playmaker Jonathan Huberdeau in return for Tkachuk lessens the blow and puts the Flames right back in contention for a solid season.
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ODDS
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SPREAD
- AVALANCHE +1.5 (-230)
- FLAMES -1.5 (+184)
MONEYLINE
- AVALANCHE (+108)
- FLAMES (-130)
TOTAL
- OVER 6.5 (-102)
- UNDER 6.5 (-120)
PREDICTION
It is hard to bet against the Avalanche, with all their firepower and starting the season hot, scoring 5 goals.
New netminder Alexandar Georgiev will make his first back-to-back start and even though its early on, a quick back-to-back in another city is a haul for any team.
The Flames have been preparing for this game all offseason and the Saddledome will be electric tonight.
Back the Flames to get the job done on the money line.
BEST BET
FLAMES ML (-130)
BEST PROPS
Valeri Nichushkin o2.5 SOGs (-135)
Val was one of my favorite targets last season for SOGs. He is a tank and fits so well in this Avs offense.
He had 5 SOGs in the season opener and scored a goal as well.
Also, in the three matchups against the Flames last season, he hit his SOGs two times and the other game he had two.
I love Val, as a player and as someone I can confidently invest in.
NOAH HANIFIN o2.5 SOGs (+146)
I am very surprised this line is so heavily juiced towards the under but boy I can’t bet it fast enough.
Hanifin is one of the most offensively active D Men in the league and is also a big time contributor on the Flames Power Play, even on the second unit.
He loves to rip the puck and for an insane value at plus money, I am game.
ELIAS LINDHOLM o2.5 SOGs (-102)
Elias Lindholm might be one of the main beneficiaries of the acquisition of Huberdeau.
Huberedeau is a pass-first player for the most part and one of the best passers in the game. Being on the first line with Lindholm boosts his offensive output capabilites immensely.
He will have many more shot opportunities due to Huberdeau’s passing ability and, at the nice odds of -102, I love this spot.
Follow me on Twitter @BN_Content and @SweatpantsJesus to stay up to date on props, sports news and overall vibes. Tonight’s game will be a fun one, you won’t want to miss it!