The Calgary Flames will be looking to rebound from a 7-4 loss in Edmonton when they play host to the Oilers in their home opener on Friday night as -135 betting favourites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Flames outshot Edmonton by a 41-28 margin in the first-ever game at Rogers Place on Wednesday but were unable to contain Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who scored two goals and added an assist to extend Calgary’s losing streak in season openers to seven games.
Calgary has enjoyed more success in recent home dates with their provincial rivals. The Flames topped Edmonton 5-3 during the Oilers’ most recent visit back in December last season, lifting them to a 4-1 record in their past five games going into Saturday night’s Oilers vs. Flames betting matchup at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Flames took a step back last season, tallying just 77 points to finish fifth in the Pacific Division standings — seven points up on last-place Edmonton. But it is the Oilers who have climbed out of the Stanley Cup odds basement for the first time in recent years, sporting +3300 odds while the Flames lag at +5000.
In the East, all eyes will be on Toronto Saturday night when the Maple Leafs hit the ice at the Air Canada Centre for their home opener against the Boston Bruins.
The Maple Leafs came up short in Wednesday’s season opener, dropping a 5-4 overtime decision in Ottawa. That spoiled the debut of first-overall draft pick Auston Matthews, who set an NHL record with four goals in his first game.
Toronto has now won just twice in their past 10 regular season contests, losing five of their last six against the Bruins, who kicked off their season Thursday night with a 6-3 win in Columbus behind Brad Marchand‘s five-point performance.
The Montreal Canadiens opened their season on Thursday with a 4-1 win in Buffalo, and will visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. The Canadiens are hoping to rebound from a devastating collapse last season following a franchise-record 9-0 start, and currently lead all Canadian NHL teams with +2500 Stanley Cup odds.
The Senators have won two of their last three games versus Montreal, and open alongside Calgary at +5000 on the Stanley Cup futures despite finishing with the most points among Canadian-based clubs last season with 85.
The Vancouver Canucks‘ campaign gets underway with home dates against Calgary on Saturday and Carolina on Sunday, while the Winnipeg Jets travel to Minnesota on Saturday following a 5-4 overtime victory over the Hurricanes in their home opener on Thursday.
The Jets join Calgary and Ottawa at +5000, while Vancouver trails as a +6600 Stanley Cup longshot heading into the season.
