The Calgary Flames will get right back to business Tuesday evening against the Utah Hockey Club after earning two critical points as massive underdogs Monday night in Colorado.

The Flames are priced as heavy underdogs once again Tuesday, as they play the second leg of a travelling back-to-back versus a scrappy Utah side. This is the third matchup of the season between these two teams, and Utah has won the first two in regulation by a combined margin of 10-4.

I’ll detail the relevant game notes, as well as outline my favourite betting angle below.

The Flames displayed a ton of heart in Monday’s matchup, as they battled back from two goals down on the road versus one of the NHL’s best teams before ultimately earning a shootout victory. The Flames live betting price reached as high as 25/1 in the third period of Monday’s game before the fourth line broke through with two goals in just 32 seconds midway through the third period.

Colorado outshot Calgary 30-27 and held a 7-6 edge in high-danger scoring chances. Considering the quality of the Avalanche, the Flames did an extremely good job defensively against one of the league’s most high-powered offences. Dan Vladar had yet another solid outing and now holds a save percentage of .921 over his last eight outings.

Not only did the Flames boost their playoff hopes significantly with an upset win over the Avalanche, the Minnesota Wild only received one point for their shootout loss versus the New Jersey Devils on Monday. The Flames have three soft matchups ahead of their showdown with the Wild on April 11th, and if they win the games they are supposed to, the matchup versus Minnesota could be gigantic.

Fans and coaches alike have to be satisfied with the efforts the Flames have put forth recently, as you could argue that each of the last seven games has been a performance to be proud of. The Flames are 5-1-1 in that span, and in the only losses, which came against the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers, were probably deserving of a better result.

Calgary’s underlying results have improved dramatically over the last seven games, as it holds an expected goal share of 55.0%. It has allowed only 2.66 xGA/60 in that span and 24.53 shots against per game.

It looks as though it will take at least another year for Utah’s developing young core to finally earn another playoff berth. Admittedly, I did expect a healthier Utah roster to remain in contention for the final Wild Card berth down the stretch, but as the other Wild Card teams have elevated their level of play, Utah has failed to do so.

Utah finished the month of March with a record of 6-5-3, and even with a record of 8-0-0 to finish the season would have a total of only 94 points. It has taken a step backward defensively over the last month of play, allowing 3.50 goals against per game and 3.04 xGA/60.

Connor Ingram is currently in the NHL’s player assistance program after his mother’s passing due to breast cancer, which has forced Karel Vejmelka to take on the vast majority of the workload. Vejmelka is showing signs of being overworked, as he played to a save percentage of just .884 and a GAA of 3.01 in 14 starts throughout the month of March.

While Utah will ultimately miss the playoffs, the Flames know full-well that it is not a team to take lightly. Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, and Nick Schmaltz provide the team with a highly effective top line, while Dylan Guenther and Barrett Hayton have played at a high level on the second unit.

Utah also features two solid defensive pairings, offering a top unit of Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino, and a second unit of Ian Cole and Sean Durzi.

While I’ve been high on Utah all season long, it does look to be getting plenty of credit in this matchup versus a desperate Flames side, even in a back-to-back spot for the Flames.

Calgary is in the midst of arguably its best stretch of play this season, and being right in the thick of the playoff chase has clearly provided the team with the motivation to play at a higher level. Utah may own more of the overall run of play in this matchup, but Wolf has been in drastically better form than Vejmelka recently.

There’s no disputing that Utah deserves to be a favourite in this matchup, but a price of -174 looks a little extreme. Calgary has the avenues to make this game into somewhat of a coin-flip, and I’m happy with a price of +156 to back the Flames finding a way to earn two points.