The Flames are back to their usual routine of playing low scoring games. And in the Flames’ case, ‘unders’ beget more ‘unders’–Calgary has gone ‘under’ in 10 of 13 this year after playing ‘under’ in three or more games. The Flames have only gone ‘over’ twice in their past 12 games (8 UN, 2 push) and that’s their style of hockey. The Avs play more ‘overs’ than Calgary does, but have gone ‘under’ in 3 of their last four. YTD, they’ve gone ‘under’ in 16 of 27 on the road.
As is so often the case in the NHL, I look to previous head to head matchups to get an idea of how a game will play out stylistically. And in the case of Avs v. Flames, its a clear verdict for the ‘under’. 12 of the last 17 head to head have gone ‘under’ including 8 of the last 9 in Calgary. They’ve also gone ‘under’ in all three meetings this year, and with so much at stake in terms of these teams’ postseason position no reason not to expect another defensive battle here.