Despite a heartbreaking sequence of events on Tuesday night that led to the Calgary Flames finally being officially eliminated from playoff contention, the last game of the season should be plenty of fun, as Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, Aydar Suniev, and Sam Morton will all make their NHL debuts.

The Kings, meanwhile, are locked into a first-round series versus the Edmonton Oilers, which is set to begin Monday evening at 10:00 EST. They boast an incredible 31-5-4 record on home ice heading into this matchup, but will mainly be hoping to come out unscathed ahead of what could be a lengthy playoff run.

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

While the third period was ultimately rendered meaningless thanks to the Anaheim Ducks’ late collapse versus the Minnesota Wild, the Flames can certainly hold their heads high after yet another spirited comeback in a game that they never really deserved to be down two goals in.

The insertion of four youngsters, who are all worthy of playing time at the NHL level, should help provide the Flames with some energy after suffering a painful elimination on Tuesday evening. With all due respect to the other three, Flames fans are rightfully most excited to see Parekh make his debut, as the electrifying defender has the potential to be a franchise-altering piece on the back end.

Parekh put up 107 points in 61 games in the OHL this season, as well as 66 goals over his last 127 regular season games at the OHL level. He also was a significant reason why the Saginaw Spirit won the Memorial Cup last season, which heavily disputes any foolish narratives that his style of play does not lead to team success.

While there will be some growing pains at the NHL level, it’s entirely reasonable to believe the strengths of Parekh’s game can still make him a useful player right out of the gates. Based on today’s morning skate, he will play on the second pairing alongside Kevin Bahl and on the second power play unit.

Over the last 15 games, the Flames hold an expected goal share of 53.49% and hold a record of 10-2-3. In almost any other year they would have earned a playoff spot, and could actually tie the record for most points from a non-playoff team with a win in this matchup.

The Flames will be resting some significant pieces in this matchup to help open up spots for the young guys, and it is also likely some of the guys resting were likely dealing with minor ailments down the stretch. Jonathan Huberdeau, Rasmus Andersson, Martin Pospisil, and Joel Hanley are among the players who will not play in this game.

Dan Vladar has been confirmed as the starting goaltender in this matchup, which makes sense as Dustin Wolf had made eight consecutive starts prior to this matchup. Vladar holds a -1.3 GSAx rating and .895 save percentage in 29 appearances this season but has been in spectacular form in the season’s final third.

At the time of writing, it is unclear who will all sit out for the Kings in this matchup; at a minimum, it appears that Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson will be among those who will not play in the game.

Regardless of the result of tonight’s game, the Kings appear poised to give the Edmonton Oilers a tough test in Round One, and will surely have the support of Flames Nation. The Kings hold the best xGA/60 rating in the NHL since the 4 Nations Face-Off, which was a significant indicator of playoff success last season.

While the Kings have been one of the league’s best defensive teams in each of the last three seasons, they appear to have taken steps forward in other facets of the game this year.

They have not had a goaltender offer the level of play that Darcy Kuemper has in recent years, as in his first season with the Kings, Kuemper has been brilliant, stopping 92.2 percent of shots faced in 50 games played.

Their offensive upside looks to be improved compared to years past, as Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield have powered the team’s third line to tremendous results down the stretch, while Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe continue to provide meaningful offensive upside on the top unit while being highly accountable defensively.

At the time of writing it’s unclear whether or not Kuemper or backup David Rittich will get the start in this matchup, but it would be surprising to see the Kings not opt to rest their top guy in Kuemper. Rittich holds a -9.0 GSAx rating and .888 save percentage in 33 appearances this season.

While the Flames will be without numerous key skaters in this matchup, the players that are coming into the lineup should be quite capable of providing decent results at the NHL level and could offer a far higher level of urgency than many of the Kings skaters that will mainly be hoping to avoid injury in this matchup.

Vladar is a superior starter than former Flame Rittich, so Calgary will hold an edge in goal if that is ultimately the matchup we see. The Kings may still confirm more players than just Doughty and Anderson are resting later on, which would likely make the betting prices more even.

A meaningless Game 82 is not the ideal time to lay any kind of significant wager, but in a fairly volatile spot, I see value in backing the Flames at a long number of +145 as they will have a number of skaters desperate to make an impact in this matchup.