Calgary Flames at Dallas Stars Betting Preview/Prop Picks

Game 3 of the Western Conference playoff series between the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars is set for Saturday night. This series is knotted up at 1-1, and the Stars have now taken over home-ice advantage from the Flames.

Calgary won the Pacific Division this season with 111 points on the year, and they were big favorites to win this series. The Flames won the series opener but were blanked at home in a Game 2 loss.

Dallas snuck into the playoffs as a Wild Card team, but that is something that this team is used to doing. The Stars are a veteran group that knows how to win in the postseason, and they came up big in the Game 2 win. 

The Calgary Flames are the moneyline betting favorites at -162 over the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of this series.

Flames Have to Score

The Calgary Flames scored 3.55 goals per game during the regular season, but the offense has been a mess up to this point. Calgary managed just 29 shots on goal in the Game 2 loss, and they have to find a way to get more pressure on offense.

Johnny Gaudreau needs to spark the Flames at some point as he led the team with 75 assists and 115 points during the regular season. Calgary scores on the power play nearly 23 percent of the time, but that unit has let them down in this series.

Goaltender Jacob Markstrom has been terrific, and that was the case in the regular season as well. Markstrom had nine shutouts in the regular season, and he is capable of taking over a game.

Dallas Wants to Dominate the Puck

The Dallas Stars scored just 2.84 goals per game this season, and they actually allowed nearly three goals per game. Dallas does not want to let the Flames get out and go on the offensive end, and they have to find a way to slow everything down.

Jake Oettinger has been tremendous up to this point in the postseason, and he did post a 30-15-1 record in the regular season. The penalty kill for Dallas must continue to shut the door, and then they must find a way to generate offense.

Center Joe Pavelski led the team with 81 points in the regular season, and he scored the game-winning goal in Game 2. Dallas isn’t going to score a ton of goals, but they have enough talent to get the job done.

Stars Take Series Lead

There has not been much offense at all in this series, and that plays into the hands of the Stars much more than the Calgary Flames. Dallas doesn’t have the offensive weapons to keep up, but they clearly have the explosive Flames frustrated. 

Calgary just hasn’t been able to generate anything on offense all series long as they have scored just one goal. Jake Oettinger has been the best player in this series up to this point, and he should have another great game.

Look for this game to be another one that is decided by just one goal, and it will be the Stars that get it done at home. Bet the Dallas Stars moneyline as they take a 2-1 series lead over the Calgary Flames.

Prop Picks

Calgary (+145) UNDER 2.5 Goals

Dallas is allowing 3.0 goals per game on defense, which ranks No. 14 in the league. That average decreases to 1.8 goals per game in the Stars’ last five games.

With Dunkel predicting a Dallas victory by the score of 2-1, take the Flames (+145) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 2.5 goals against Dallas.

Mikael Backlund (-200) UNDER 0.5 Points

Backlund had 39 points in 82 games during the regular season, which ranked No. 7 on the Flames. The veteran center had 31 points (9 goals, 22 assists) in 50 games during Calgary wins and only 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 32 games during Calgary losses.

With Dunkel predicting a Stars win while holding the Flames UNDER their Vegas team total, take Backlund (-200) to finish UNDER 0.5 points against Dallas.

Keep up with your latest NHL news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.