Oilers vs. Flames Game 2 NHL Picks: Battle of Alberta Living Up to the Hype

The Battle of Alberta started with a bang on Wednesday night with a 9-6 Calgary Flames win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1. Will we get another crazy game on Friday? We break down Game 2 with our Oilers-Flames picks.

Hockey fans had the Battle of Alberta circled on their brackets and it has not disappointed through 60 minutes. Game 1 was a thrilling back-and-forth affair with the Flames chasing Oilers goaltender Mike Smith after three goals in just over six minutes. 

Calgary eventually took leads of 5-1 and 6-2 before Edmonton scored four straight goals to tie it early in the third period. However, the Flames kept pushing and didn’t let the Oilers back into the game after taking the lead back shortly after.

The Flames and Oilers face off in Game 2 on Friday night as the Battle of Alberta continues.

Here are my Oilers-Flames Game 2 picks and predictions for Friday’s NHL matchup (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5 star scale).

Oilers vs. Flames Game Info

Date/Time: Friday, May 20, 10:30 p.m. ETTV: ESPN, CBC, TVAS, SNLocation: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB

Oilers vs. Flames Odds

Oilers vs. Flames Odds Analysis

The line hasn’t moved too much since opening at Oilers +150 and Flames -186. Calgary is between -175 (DraftKings) and -195 (Unibet) with Edmonton as high as +155 (Unibet). The Oilers have received 56% of the tickets and 57% of the handle.

On the puck line, you can get Flames -1.5 (+145) at DraftKings and Oilers +1.5 (-154) at FOXBet.

The total opened at 6.5 and is surprisingly still there despite the 15-goal Game 1. The best price on the Over 6.5 (-115) is at DraftKings with the Under 6.5 (+100) at Unibet.

Oilers vs. Flames Picks

Flames -1.5 (+145) ???Over 6.5 (-115) ????Elias Lindholm Over 0.5 points (-170) ????

SEE ALSO: Rangers vs. Hurricanes Game 2 NHL Picks

Oilers vs. Flames Predictions

Flames -1.5 (+145)

The final regular-season meeting between these teams on March 26 finished with the Flames winning 9-5 and the hosts put up nine goals again in Game 1. The teams split the four-game regular-season series with home-ice reigning supreme. Calgary outshot Edmonton 38-31 in that 9-5 win in March and had an even bigger disparity in Game 1 (48-28).

The Flames are the much better team and they’ve shown that throughout the season and playoffs. They have a 60.91% expected goals share at 5-on-5 through eight playoff games, following up their 54.95% (fifth-best) mark in the regular season.

The Oilers are barely over .500 (23-17-5) on the road this season (regular + playoffs), which includes 0-3-0 in Calgary. The Flames should win and I like the puck line at +145 given Edmonton’s porous defense.

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Over 6.5 (-115)

The Over has now hit in four of five head-to-head meetings this season and it hasn’t been close in the last two games. There were 29 total goals scored in those two contests with Calgary scoring nine in each game. 

The Flames got to Smith early in Game 1 and he’s slated to start Game 2. Calgary should put up another three or four tallies (at least) on him. Edmonton is more than capable of scoring a few itself with center Connor McDavid leading the way against Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who did not play well in Game 1.

The Battle of Alberta has produced high-scoring games recently and the Over 6.5 being at only -115 seems like a steal. Calgary could hit that mark itself.

Lindholm Over 0.5 points (-170)

Flames center Elias Lindholm leads the team with points in 65 of 90 games this season (72%, implying around -260 odds). However, he’s still only -170 to record a point when linemates Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk are less than -200. 

It’s not like Lindholm has slowed down in the playoffs; he has points in six of eight games, including two in Game 1. He should continue to put up points in a high-scoring game against the Oilers at home.

Where to Bet on Oilers-Flames Picks

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Oilers-Flames picks made on 5/19/2022 at 11:41 p.m. ET.