NHL Preview: Flames vs. Stars Predictions

Written by Jake Thompson
Thursday, 16 February 2012 17:16

It’s time to make predictions against the NHL odds in Thursday’s game between the Flames and the Stars.

The Calgary Flames (27-22-4-4) will hit the road on Thursday to take on the Dallas Stars (28-25-0-3), and we hope that our preview will lead everyone toward some profitable predictions in this game.  Bovada Sportsbook has the NHL betting odds favoring the Stars at -120, while the total in this 8:30 PM ET clash sits at over or under 5 goals.

These teams have met up regularly the past few seasons and the over has only been a winning wager in 2 of the last 8 head-to-head meetings in Dallas.  The road team has been very successful and has covered the odds in 11 of the past 16 meetings.  Calgary was a 4-3 shootout winner in the most recent meeting last season, and the win marked the 4th straight victory for the Flames against Dallas.

Calgary has won 4 of their last 6 this season despite being an underdog in 3 of those games, and this team has been scoring more goals lately despite not hitting on many power play opportunities.  The offense looks to be performing well, and they should have some chances against a Dallas defense that is playing good but not great recently.  The Stars have been doing well against the power play, but I think Calgary can find some room to operate throughout this matchup.

Dallas hasn’t been an overly effective offense all season and I haven’t seen anything recently that indicates they are ready to break out of that slump.  The Stars have looked lost on offense lately and their power play is not strong.  Calgary does have some issues when shorthanded but I don’t think the Stars have the personnel to take advantage of that weakness.   The Flames do a great job at stopping quality shots even though they generally allow quite a few bad ones.  When you have a goal as good as Miikka Kiprusoff, you don’t have to worry as much about those bad shots finding a way into the back of the net.

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I see no reason why Calgary can’t keep beating Dallas on Thursday, and my predictions call for a play on the Flames as small road underdogs.  They have looked better recently and I just don’t see how the Stars manage to score goals here.  They are facing an elite goalie at a time where their offense just isn’t showing much rhythm.  The under also makes for a great play in what I expect to be a low-scoring affair.

Flames vs. Stars Predictions:

Flames 2

Stars 1