Underdog Ducks head into Calgary to face off against winless Flames

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The Flames have an apt name this year because it’s getting hot in Calgary… the pressure is on for this team to start performing.

Calgary opened their season on Saturday night with a classic setting… the battle of Alberta.

But while the setting may have been nice, the result was NOT for Calgary… they fell to Connor McDavid’s Oilers 5-2.

After being on the outside looking in to the Canadian Division playoff picture, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan were hoping to lead their team to more of the promised land this season.

If they’re going to compete in the Pacific, Edmonton is the blueprint to follow.

And they should probably be beating teams like Anaheim tonight… but will they?

The Ducks, while also outside of the playoffs, look much younger than Calgary.

And they are starting to bloom.

Unlike Calgary, Anaheim has a win this year. A convincing one over Winnipeg.

They have been getting contributions from rookies like Mason McTavish and Isac Lundestrom, while veterans like Jakob Silfverberg are also at the top of their scoring lead.

With John Gibson in net, the Ducks defence is already impressive before you take the Kevin Shattenkirk acquisition into account… he had a goal against the Jets, by the way.

With the Ducks as the underdog heading into Calgary against the winless Flames, they present good value.

Here are my picks: