(1P) Flames vs. (WC1) Stars
Western Conference First Round, Game 1
10:00 p.m. Eastern time; ESPN2, CBC, SN, TVAS2, BSSW
The Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars will meet for the second time in the last three postseasons when they begin their Western Conference First Round series with Game 1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.
The Stars defeated the Flames in six games in the 2020 Western First Round and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
The Flames (50-21-11) won the Pacific Division for the second time since 2018-19 and their 111 points were the second most in their history; they had 117 points in 1988-89, when they won the Stanley Cup. The Stars (46-30-6) earned the first Wild Card in the West playoffs.
The Flames’ left wing top line johnny gaudreau (40 goals, 75 assists), central Elijah Lindholm (42 goals, 40 assists) and right flank Matthew Tkachuk (42 goals, 62 assists) combined to score 301 points (124 goals, 177 assists) this season. Gaudreau led the Flames and was tied for second in the NHL with a career-high 115 points in 82 games.
“I mean, they’re so skilled, right?” stars ahead Jason Robertson saying. “They pre-check very hard. I would say our top line is similar, but they all have their strengths and complement each other well. So I think you just have to be vigilant when they’re on the ice.”
Stars top line left wing Robertson (41 goals, 38 assists), center roope hintz (37 goals, 35 assists) and right flank joe pavelski (27 goals, 54 assists) combined for 232 points (105 goals, 127 assists). Pavelski led the Stars with 81 points in 82 games, the most of his NHL career.
“They’re skilled players, they obviously see the ice very well, they’re a fast line, a lot of speed and they’ve been playing well all year together,” Gaudreau said. “We have to keep our eyes on them.”
defending John Klingbergwho missed the Stars’ final regular-season game, against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, due to a lower-body injury, is expected to play in Game 1.
Teams that win Game 1 are 499-228 (68.8 percent) winning a best-of-7 NHL playoff series, including 6-2 in the first round last season.
Here are 3 keys to Game 1:
1. Special equipment
The Flames and Stars were close in dominating the power play during the regular season; Calgary ranked 10th in the NHL at 22.9 percent, Dallas was 11th at 22.4 percent. There’s a bigger gap on the penalty kick, where the Flames were sixth at 83.2 percent while the Stars were 19th at 79.0 percent.
2. Oettinger’s first postseason start
jake oettinger he appeared in two games during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but will make his first NHL postseason start in Game 1. The 23-year-old went 30-15-1 with a 2.53 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and one shutout in 48 games (46 starts).
“We put him in a couple of third periods when the game was pretty much up and the other team stopped playing,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said. “So this is your first round. [Flames goalie Jacob] Markstrom has been there, he has a lot more experience dealing with this than Jake. With that being said, we have full confidence in Jake and will get him through this.”
3. Something to try
The Flames have won a playoff series since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 and they want to change that.
“You’re not a proven playoff team or anything like that until you do it several years in a row and then you have some success,” Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. “If you look at the history of champions, that’s what they are. We’re all excited because we made the playoffs. Now you’re trying to take the next step, try to win a game.”
Projected Star Alignment
Jason RobertsonRoope HintzJoe Pavelski
jamie benn — Vladislav Namestnikov — Tyler Seguin
Joel Kiviranta — Radek Faksa — Denis Guryanov
miguel raffle — lucas glendening — Alexander Radulov
ryan sweater — I look at Heiskanen
That Lindell –John Klingberg
Joel Hanley — Jani Hakan Paa
jake oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Lined: thomas-harley, Jacob Peterson, Andrej Sekera, Marian Studenic
Injured: None
Projected Flames lineup
Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm, Matthew Tkachuk
Andres Mangiapane — Michael Backlund — Tyler Toffoli
Dillon Dub — Jarnkrok Street — blake coleman
Milan Lucic — Trevor Lewis — Brett Ritchie
Noah Hanfin — rasmus andersson
Oliver Kylington — Christopher Tanev
Nikita Zadorov — Erik Gudbranson
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
Lined: Adam Ruzicka, ryan carpenter, miguel stone, Connor Mackey
Injured: None
status report
Each team performed an optional morning skate. … Klingberg is likely to play, but if he’s unavailable, Harley or Sekera, both left-backs, would enter the lineup.
Reference-www.nhl.com