Ahead of the game: New York Islanders vs. Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames were awesome against the Leafs.  They were better against the Golden Knights the night before. On Saturday, on Hockey Night in Canada, the New York Islanders make their way to the Saddledome.  It is the second of the teams’ two meetings this year.  Here is what I’m looking at before the matchup, complete with betting odds.

Since facing each other in early November, the Calgary Flames and New York Islanders have faced similar adversity.  Both teams have had games postponed as a result of entering the NHL’s COVID protocol.  As a result, both teams have games in hand against leaders in their respective divisions.

Where the  teams diverge is how they have performed since that first meeting.  The Flames, of course, are undefeated in their last 5 games.  They have put up convincing wins against top tier opponents.  The Islanders, however haven’t been as lucky.  They’ve dropped 2 of their last 5, residing 6th in the Metropolitan Division.

Here’s what I’ll be watching on Saturday.

There Is Only ONE Thing to Talk About

Goaltending.

The Flames have announced that Jacob Markstrom will start once again on Saturday.  To that, all I have to say is, WHY???

Markstrom was near perfect on Thursday against Toronto.  He WAS perfect the night before when Vegas rolled through.  I understand that it’s Saturday, Hockey Night in Canada, and your goalie is performing well. But doesn’t it make sense to rest a your starting netminder against a middling team after starting consecutive nights against teams higher in the standings?

Darryl Sutter, if you’re reading this (and I KNOW you are), give Marky a break!  It’s clear you’ve lost faith in Dan Vladar.  But isn’t it time to give him a chance to earn it back?  Isn’t that the case especially when the team in front of him is playing so well?  For no other reason, Vladar needs more starts to prevent Markstrom from being burned out heading into the post-season.

Betting Odds

According to WynnBET, the Calgary Flames are 1.5-point favourites at home.  Interestingly, the Islanders are favoured to cover the 1.5 goals at 1.66 odds where the Flames are 2.30 to beat the spread.  The Flames have 1.45 moneyline odds, while the Isles are the road ‘dogs at a whopping 2.80.  The total for the game is set at an over/under of 5.5 with the under being favoured at 1.80.

After tonight, the Flames go back-to-back against Columbus and Anaheim respectively.  Vladar has GOT to get that Columbus game!