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Free Series Picks: Flames vs. Ducks NHL Playoffs Gambling Lines

Flames vs Ducks Playoff Pick

The Cinderella Calgary Flames and the juggernaut Anaheim Ducks meet in the second round of the NHL playoffs. The Flames overcame a 3-0 score in Game 6 to knock out the Canucks while the Ducks were in tough against the Jets but swept Winnipeg out of the playoffs.

NHL Playoffs Betting

Anaheim vs Calgary
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Game Schedule

Thursday, April 30 10 p.m. Calgary at Anaheim NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Sunday, May 3 10 p.m. Calgary at Anaheim CNBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Tuesday, May 5 9:30 p.m. Anaheim at Calgary Sportsnet, TVA Sports, USA
Friday, May 8 9:30 p.m. Anaheim at Calgary Sportsnet, TVA Sports, NBCSN
*Sunday, May 10 TBD Calgary at Anaheim Sportsnet, TVA Sports
*Tuesday, May 12 TBD Anaheim at Calgary Sportsnet, TVA Sports
*Thursday, May 14 TBD Calgary at Anaheim Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Flames vs. Ducks Odds To Win 7 Game Series:

Calgary Flames Series Prices +180
Anaheim Ducks Series Prices -210

The Ducks were the top seed in the West and have beaten the Flames and astounding 20 straight times on home ice. So does that mean a second straight quick series for Anaheim? Something tells me the answer to that answer is a resounding “No”.

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Calgary is a team that never quits and hasn’t been intimidated with any situation so far this season.

Offense

Believe it or not the Calgary Flames had the better offense during the Regular Season – Calgary averaged 2.91 goals per game – good for 5th in the NHL and the Ducks were 11th with an average of 2.79 goals per game.

This will be a battle between the teams’ top lines – for the Ducks Corey Perry had goals three and seven points in Round 1 while center Ryan Getzlaf had four points and a plus-3 rating while averaging 22:26 of ice time per game, second among all forwards. Calgary’s top line of Jiri Hudler had three goals, Sean Monahan had two and Johnny Gaudreau had two as well – that line scored seven of its 18 goals in six games against the Canucks and really came on toward the end of the series.

Anaheim looked as though they would hold an enormous depth advantage up front. But names like rookie Sam Bennett had two goals and one assist in the series, another rookie Michael Ferland had four points and provided a huge physical boost, Matt Stajan, Michael Backlund and Mason Raymond all had a good series against Vancouver.

That said the Ducks have probably the best second-line center in the game – Ryan Kesler, they have Jakob Silfverberg who was remarkable in Round 1, Andrew Cogliano, Rickard Rakell and Kyle Palmieri.

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The forward lines for each team look even at this point of the season. Calgary is a dangerous team and so are the Ducks.

Defense

Defensively this series looks equally even. It wasn’t thought to be when the Flames lost Mark Giordano.

For the Ducks Hampus Lindholm, Francois Beauchemin, Cam Fowler, Simon Despres, Sami Vatanen and Clayton Stoner were solid against Winnipeg and should be again in Round 2.

For Calgary Chris Russell, Dennis Wideman, TJ Brodie, Deryk Engelland, David Schlemko and Corey Potter were terrific against Vancouver. Not only did the team defend very well but the D-corp. provided more than their share of offense as well. The top pair of Russell and Weidman each had four points in the six-game series against the Canucks – Brodie also recorded four points.

Because of the offensive contribution of the Calgary defense, I give the edge to the Flames surprisingly.

Goaltending

Goaltending could be where this series is won or lost. In the Ducks corner is Frederik Andersen who passed a huge test in Round 1 while posting a 2.20 GAA and .924 save percentage. Suiting up for the Flames is former Ducks keeper Jonas Hiller who will certainly have some added motivation as we head into this series. He had a 1.84 goals-against average and .942 save percentage in the first five games against the Canucks before melting down in Game 6 and getting pulled.

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Simply put, the Flames need Hiller to steal a game or two in the series and based on his performance against Vancouver, I like him to do just that.

Prediction:

There were a ton of question marks surrounding the Anaheim Ducks heading into the playoffs – there were many that thought they were the team most prime to be upset. The Ducks didn’t exactly answer those questions in the first round – the fact is that a sub-par Ondrej Pavelec paved the way to the Jets demise.

Calgary has been the most resilient team in the NHL all season long – just when you count them out they defy the odds. I like them to continue doing so in this series. Calgary played Anaheim tough all season long and has two new weapons in their arsenal – San Bennett and Michael Ferland could be the difference. As 2-1 dogs, I can’t resist

4* NHL Pick – Take the Flames +180 in seven games

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By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.