It's been a busy summer of roster shuffling for the Calgary Flames, and they'll quickly be tested in their season opener against the defending champion Colorado Avalanche. Here are our top Avalanche-Flames picks.
Calgary's lineup experienced a seismic shift over the offseason, with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri replacing a pair of star players in Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. Expectations are still high as this franchise is expected to compete for a division title, and defeating Colorado would certainly be a statement win.
The Avalanche are fresh off a Stanley Cup victory and looking to repeat, although Kadri leaving is a huge loss. Their goaltending is questionable too, but that might not be a huge area of concern given this team's propensity to both score and stop goals. Will that be enough to prevent Kadri from getting his revenge?
Here are our Avalanche-Flames NHL picks for Thursday (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).