Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets – NHL Playoff Series Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Calgary Flames and the Winnipeg Jets meet in a qualifying round best-of-5 playoff series once NHL play resumes, so let’s take a look at the two sides heading into that series. Bet This NHL Series Here

The Calgary Flames sat in 7th at the time that the league was paused, but enter as the 8th seed based on points percentage after accumulating 79 points with a record of 36-27-7 this season. This is the first even year that Calgary’s been in the postseason since the 2007-08 campaign after alternating playoff appearances and missed playoff seasons each of the last six years. Matthew Tkachuk led the Flames in points with 61 points after tallying 23 goals and 38 assists. Johnny Gaudreau has 58 points in 2nd with a team-high 40 helpers and Elias Lindholm added 54 points with a Flames-high 29 goals this season. David Rittich saw the bulk of the starts in goal for Calgary this season, posting a record of 24-17-6 with a 2.97 goals against average and a .907 save percentage this season.

The Winnipeg Jets on the other hand, caught a bit of a bad break in this format as they were sixth in the conference and in the first wild card spot with 80 points with a record of 37-28-6 this season. This playoff appearance marks the 3rd straight appearance for the Jets and 4th since returning to Winnipeg in the 2011-12 season. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele tied for the team-high in points with 73 points this season, with Connor burying a team-high 38 goals with 35 assists while Scheifele had a team-high 44 helpers to go along with his 29 goals. Blake Wheeler also had 65 points with 43 assists and Patrik Laine chipped in 63 points with 28 goals for the ‘Peg this season. Connor Hellebuyck saw the bulk of the action in goal for the Jets this year, posting a record of 31-21-5 with a 2.57 GAA and a .922 save percentage.in the regular season.

The lone meeting between the two sides in the regular season saw Winnipeg emerge victorious in OT by a final score of 2-1.

This is the series that I’m most disappointed to be played with no spectators as the Sea of Red in Calgary and the Whiteout in Winnipeg are two of the craziest fan bases come playoff-time in the NHL. With that said, Calgary will probably have Mark Giordano and Travis Hamonic healthy but I still think the Jets are the better team and have the better goaltending with Hellebuyck compared to Rittich and Talbot for Calgary. I do think the series goes 5, but ultimately I see the Jets moving on. Bet This NHL Series Here