Posted at 4:30 PM EST odds are subject to change.

Pinnacle +130  BET365  +125 Sportsinteraction +127 888Sport +125

Calgary +130 over Minnesota

8:07 PM EST. OT Included. There are eight teams in the West that will qualify for the playoffs. 10 teams have a legit shot of making the playoffs. The two teams that are on the outside looking in are Nashville and Calgary. Of the eight teams that would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today, none of them are rooting for Calgary to win because nobody wants to face them in the playoffs. All eight teams are rooting for Nashville to find lightning in a bottle and get in because all eight would love to play Nashville. Point is, Calgary is an elite team that would be amongst the greatest teams ever that didn’t make the playoffs. If the Flames had even average goaltending, they would be a cup contender but as it stands now, they are nothing but an “also ran”, a term used in horse racing that describes the horses that finished the race “out of the money”.

We have no idea what’s going to happen in this game but what we do know is the Flames are elite and very worthy of taking back a tag regardless of situation. The Flames are motivated and playing with heart. The effort will be there tonight although the goaltending may not. However, we cannot wager on games based on goaltending because we have no idea if the pucks will find the back of the net or if a goaltender will be hot or cold. As we see every single night in the NHL, predicting goalie performances is next to impossible. As we see every night, teams that get dominated, win often, just like Chicago and San Jose did last night. Calgary rarely gets dominated but often dominates.

Yeah, it’s Calgary’s third game in four nights and second of back-to-backs but after last night’s results, Calgary is just five points out of a playoff spot and they have Anaheim, Ottawa and Arizona on deck. That’s three extremely winnable games. Combine that with a potential win tonight and suddenly, in a very short time, a window will open for Calgary to sneak into the playoffs. There are nine NHL teams in the Western Conference that will be rooting for Minnesota to beat Calgary tonight because none of them want to see Calgary sneak in. We repeat, as an underdog, you will not find a better team in the NHL to consistently get behind taking back prices. Calgary is always a live dog.

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