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NY Post
New York Post
11 Mar 2023


NextImg:NHL futures: Why now might be the time to bet on the Flames

The NHL regular season is a roller-coaster ride for just about every team.

Unless a team is at the very top of the table or propping it up, it’s likely it will endure plenty of highs and lows throughout the 82-game campaign.

Perhaps no team has had a more turbulent 2022-23 season than the Flames. 

The ride really started for Calgary in the summer, when Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk leave the team and the Flames replaced them with Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri.

It wasn’t exactly a like-for-like switch, but considering the spot they were in, everyone lauded the Flames for making the most of a tough situation. 

Calgary’s frenetic offseason didn’t seem to worry the betting market, as the Flames began the season with 18/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup, making them one of the favorites in the Western Conference.

But as the season went on, the cracks started to show.

Calgary was blowing leads, getting inconsistent goaltending and losing games as big favorites to the likes of Columbus, Chicago and Montreal. 

Despite the inconsistent results, the process for the Flames never looked bad.

Calgary ranks inside the top-10 in expected goals rate, high-danger chance percentage and is second in shot-attempt differential at five-on-five this season.

Even through the past 10 games, which included an 0-3-2 stretch that looked as if it would cost the Flames any chance of making a playoff push, they were tilting the ice in the right direction. 

Jacob Markstrom

Jacob Markstrom
NHLI via Getty Images

Calgary just wasn’t finishing its chances and the goaltending was poor.

Jacob Markstrom, a Vezina finalist last season, has posted an .893 save percentage in 44 games this season.

He wasn’t getting much help from the rest of the team as Calgary’s 8.6 shooting percentage is tied with Anaheim for the worst mark in the circuit. 

The bad breaks, inconsistent play and poor goaltending all added up to the Flames sitting five points behind Winnipeg at the trade deadline and there were rumors Calgary would be a seller. 

Calgary’s season was on life support, and if not for a 2-6-2 stretch from the Jets, the Flames would be completely out of this thing by now.

But two wins over Dallas and Minnesota later, the Flames are just four points back of Winnipeg, though the Jets will likely have the tiebreaker (regulation wins) over the Flames in the standings. 

But while the Flames have a manageable upcoming schedule, with games against Anaheim, Ottawa and Arizona, the Jets are in the midst of a road trip through the Southeastern United States. 

Calgary is an underdog in the race with Winnipeg, but if the Flames pull it off, they have the makings of a strong long-shot bet. 

First of all, if they get in it would likely mean that Markstrom has sorted his game out and the rest of the team is in good form. Second, the Western Conference playoffs should be wide open.

Colorado is surging and looks to be the best team out West, but unless the Avalanche catch the Stars and Wild, the Flames won’t have to deal with them until later on in the tournament. 

The Pacific Division bracket is also relatively open, with Vegas, Los Angeles, Edmonton and Seattle jockeying for positioning.

There is no elite team in that quartet. 

At the time of writing, the Flames currently sit as high as 55/1 (DraftKings) to win the Stanley Cup.

Should results go their way this weekend, that number will be long gone.

So if you think the recent resurgence from Calgary is legitimate, the time to act is now.