Calgary vs Colorado Prediction: the Avalanche to Show How Champions Play

Prediction for the NHL Calgary Flames vs Colorado Avalanche match, which will take place on October 14. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Calgary

Calgary is a team that has had a strong roster in recent years but could not prove themselves in cup battles. Last season the Flames finally began to show progress, as they managed to get to the second round of the Stanley Cup, where they lost to Edmonton - 1:4. It seemed that the Red and Yellows would continue with their core to move to the cherished trophy. Still, in the offseason, the leaders decided to leave the Canadian club: Johnny Gaudreau and Erik Gudbranson went to Columbus, Matthew Tkachuk went to Florida, and Sean Monahan went to Montreal. The only acquisitions worth mentioning are Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri.

Colorado

Colorado is the reigning owner of the Stanley Cup. A year earlier, the Avalanche had overcome the hardest way, but still made it to the long-awaited trophy, beating Tampa Bay 4-2 in the final series. Of course, the biggest challenge for the champion team in the offseason was keeping their roster, and the front office did a good job of that, retaining the majority of their key players, including Valeri Nichushkin. Andre Burakovsky, Darcy Kuemper and Nazem Kadri were among the team's losses but they can be replaced equally. Jared Bednar's team defeated Chicago, 5-2, in the opening game of the new regular season.

Expert Betting Tips

Calgary, in the offseason, lost almost all key players, so they will spend the starting part of the regular season gaining understanding inside the links, yet this process is not so fast. Colorado has no such problems, they kept the champion team, so from the first games of the new season, they are ready to demonstrate the highest level of hockey. Avalanche have already shown that the day before, they beat Chicago - 5:2, which allowed them only to get two points and enter a competitive rhythm.

Calgary continues to cooperate with the most experienced mentor Darryl Sutter, who instills strict and defensive hockey in his charges, and the composition over the summer has become more suited to his philosophy. We could only see that in the preseason, as the Flames had only 36 goals against (4.50 average) in eight games. Surprisingly, Colorado hasn't exactly been producing flashy, offensive hockey in the preseason either, as they've only had 30 shots on goal (5.00 average) in six games.

Valeri Nichushkin is a forward who was criticized for his poor performance for a long time. Still, he continued to work his way up to eventually become one of the key players for the champion Colorado club. Last season he played 82 games in which he scored 67 points (34 goals + 33 assists), forcing the Avalanche front office to give him a nice contract. He justified the given money from the first game of the current regular season by getting a double in the Chicago goal. The Russian is in great shape.

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