Two clubs squaring off for the first time this year, the Calgary Flames and the Dallas Stars collide at the American Airlines Center. The puck drops at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 10, and you’ll be able to see this Western Conference matchup live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Calgary Flames vs. Dallas Stars Odds
The money line for either team is currently set at an identical -110, and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. If you want to play this game’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -105 for the over and -115 on the under.
The Stars are 1-3 straight-up (SU) and have punished moneyline bettors to the tune of -2.5 units so far. That early-season winning percentage is a regression from the 43-39 record that the team posted during last year’s regular season campaign.
Dallas has successfully converted on 0.0 percent of its power play opportunities so far. That’s a big drop-off from last year, when the team was ranked seventh in the league by scoring on 21.2 percent of its extra-man chances. Its penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year as the team’s gone from successfully defending 84.4 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked third overall last season) to 89.5 percent this year.
As a collective unit, Dallas has been penalized 4.8 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed from the 3.5 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 7.7 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s had to kill penalties for 9.5 minutes per matchup this year.
With a .902 save percentage and 24.7 saves per game, Ben Bishop (1-2) has been the principal goalkeeper for the Stars this season. If they choose to give him the night off, however, head coach Jim Montgomery could turn to Anton Khudobin (0-1-1 record, .879 save percentage, 4.06 goals against average).
Roope Hintz and Tyler Seguin will each lead the offensive attack for the Stars. Hintz has found the net four times while Seguin has two goals and one to his credit so far in the early stages of the season.
On the other side of the rink, Calgary is 1-2 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.5 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Two of its matches have gone over the total, while one has gone under the total and none have pushed.
Calgary’s scored on 20.0 percent of its power play chances this year after converting on 19.3 percent of its extra-man opportunities in 2018-19 (a figure that was right at league average). The team’s gone from killing off 79.9 percent of opponent power plays (ranked 18th overall last season) to 78.6 percent this year.
Calgary’s skaters have been penalized 6.3 times per game this season, a number that’s jumped noticeably from the 3.7 penalties per game given up a year ago. After serving an average of 9.0 penalty minutes per game a year ago (ninth-most in the league), the team’s been forced to kill penalties for a whopping 17.3 minutes per matchup this season.
David Rittich (32.3 saves per game) has been the main option in the net for Calgary. Rittich owns a 1-2-1 record, while registering a .924 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average this year.
Johnny Gaudreau (two goals, four assists) has been one of the top offensive facilitators for the visiting Flames.
Calgary Flames vs. Dallas Stars Free Picks
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Flames, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Dallas has yet to play in a game this season that has been decided by two or more goals.
- Calgary skaters registered 16.3 hits per game last season, while the Stars forced 22.7 hits per matchup.
