Playoff Preview – Flames going head-to-head with the Stars

2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview, Round 1

Calgary Flames 50-21-11 (111 pts) vs Dallas Stars (46-30-6) (98 pts)

Game Schedule

Game 1 – Tuesday, May 3rd – 8:00 PM MT – SN, CBC, ESPN2

Game 2 – Thursday, May 5th – 8:00 PM MT – SN, CBC, TBS

Game 3 – Saturday, May 7th – 7:30 PM MT – SN, CBC, TNT

Game 4 – Monday, May 9th – 7:30 PM MT – SN, CBC, TBS

Game 5 (if needed) – Wednesday, May 11th – TBD

Game 6 (if needed) – Friday, May 13th – TBD

Game 7 (if needed) – Sunday, May 15th – TBD

These two teams have some great history against one another over the last few years. The Flames and Stars will meet for the second time ever in the playoffs and for the first time since 2020. The Stars won that series in 6 games and it still remains etched in the minds of the C of Red (sorry for the reminder of this series… I just had to).

The Flames are a different team from that 2020 bubble team, but if memory serves well for some of the guys that were on that team… they might be looking for a little revenge. Even though coach Darryl Sutter won't allow them to dwell on that series too much, some of these guys know the style of game the Stars play.

We should expect a solid hard fought series, as both teams play that high end offensive game, but where the Flames have the edge is in the goaltending department and slightly in the defensive department. It’ll be great to see two of the top lines in the NHL going at it. All-in-all if everything goes well I have the Flames winning this series in 5-6 games. Fingers crossed and hoping for an entertaining one!

Matchups This Season

Calgary Flames 2-0-1 against the Dallas Stars

November 4th, 2021: Dallas Stars 4 vs Calgary Flames 3 (OT)

February 1st, 2022: Calgary Flames 4 @ Dallas Stars 3

April 21st, 2022: Dallas Stars 2 vs Calgary Flames 4

Top Scorers – Top Goalies

Calgary Flames

Points: 115 – Johnny Gaudreau

Goals: 42 – Elias Lindholm & Matthew Tkachuk

Assists: 75 – Johnny Gaudreau

Save Percentage: .922 SV% – Jacob Markstrom

Goals Against Average: 2.22 GAA – Jacob Markstrom

Dallas Stars

Points: 81 – Joe Pavelski

Goals: 41 – Jason Robertson

Assists: 54 – Joe Pavelski

Save Percentage: .914 SV% – Jake Oettinger

Goals Against Average: 2.53 GAA – Jake Oettinger

Series Rewind – 2020

Well… it's time to relive the ever so dreaded playoff series against the Stars in 2020. The Flames were buzzing into this one having beaten the Winnipeg Jets in the play-in rounds and were looking to continue their hot stretch.

The Flames did get off to a good start and had the chance to go up by a 3-1 lead in the series until they blew it and ended up letting up in Game 4.

After that loss… everything went down hill. Matthew Tkachuk went down with a concussion and the team just couldn't rally together anything at all. And then came game 6. The Flames took a solid 3-0 lead and it looked like they had it in the bag but the Stars would score 7 straight to send the Flames packing and back down the QEII (as the bubble playoffs were held in Edmonton).

One of the most darkest series for the Flames over the last few years. Now the team is looking to exercise those demons against the Stars this season in a rematch. Things have changed since that series, but one thing hasn't… the want for revenge.

Playoff Betting Odds – Via BetWay

Flames Current Odds to win the Western Conference:

+350 – Outright Winner: 3.50 (2nd best odds right now)

Flames Odds to win the Stanley Cup:

+700 – Outright Winner: 7.50 (3rd best odds right now)

Players to Watch

Calgary Flames

Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. These two guys lit up the NHL all season long, grabbing a combined 219 points on the stat sheet. Looking forward to seeing what damage they can do against the Stars in this series. Will be fun to watch the two ramp up their energy and intensity for the playoffs.

Dallas Stars

Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski. This duo down in Texas has been a super solid all season long. On one side its the veteran Pavelski and he's mentoring and leading Robertson. These two have combined for 160 points this year. If the Flames want any chance at grabbing a series win… they need to insure the line of Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski gets little to nothing out on the ice.

Altogether it'll be an exciting matchup and the C of Red will be louder than ever after the last few years. Looking forward to taking in all of the playoff action and Go Flames Go!

This article is sponsored by BetWay. Go check them out for all of your betting needs during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs

by Taranjot Vining