Preferred Playoff Opponent

[BurningYears]

Edmonton? lol

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Anyone. But since that’s not an option, Arizona. What a boring first round matchup that would be though.

[Kswiss]

lol poll needs to eliminate Arizona me thinks for better results.

[ResAlien]

Anyone is fine but with the backup plan of Arizona in case Smith needs to play. He could win a series against them if he had to.

[Roof-Daddy]

Arizona because I'm going to be down there in mid April

[---Hatrick---]

The obvious pick here is Arizona. I wouldn’t mind the Wild either, although we always tend to play into their boring style and we get away from what makes us good. Def not Vegas in the first round as I would prefer them to go through a series against the sharks first

[Enoch Root]

Anyone. If we can't beat them, then we were pretenders anyway.

[theslymonkey]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Anyone but VGK. I think they will sweep the Flames.

A sweep would be them taking games 1 and 2 in the Dome where the Flames kicked their asses.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

I like the idea of playing the Blues because they are playoff chokers. So are the Wild but the games are more boring.

This is what Blues fans are probably saying about the Flames as well.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

I voted "anyone but Vegas" because Vegas is frankly terrifying given the way they're constructed... but really I'd like it to be Dallas. That would be a whole lot of fun.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by sec304

Anyone. Bring it on baby

Pretty much this. I don't care if the Sharks or Vegas are on a hot streak. We're still the better team in the standings.

We are the hunted. Which means teams should be worried about not playing US, and not vice versa.

God that feels good to say.

[LaFlamaBlanca]

[shotinthebacklund]

Anyone, Anywhere. Kick the teeth of vegas and send a message to the league.

[TheAlpineOracle]

I’d prefer Arizona.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I always worry about hot goaltending first and foremost when looking at a playoff opponent. Over 4 or 5 games, goaltending can win a series single-handedly. Being as that is our personal weak point, I want the team that has the lowest chance of out-goaltending us. I also look at historical playoff performance or how hot that goaltender is heading into the playoffs. So, let's look at the goalies of each team mentioned:

Minnesota Wild-Devan Dubnyk
2018/19: GAA-2.60 (career 2.55); SV%-.911 (career .916)
Last 5 games: GAA-3.40; SV%-.859 *This includes an outlier game against Florida where he put up .571 and let in 3 goals in 20 minutes.
Career Playoff numbers: GAA-2.72; SV%-.904

A big reason why Minnesota hasn't gone far in previous playoff years is the play of Dubnyk. He doesn't elevate his game, and in fact, he's notably worse in the postseason.


St. Louis Blues-Jake Allen? Jordan Binnington?

First off, the Blues have moved to a tandem between the two goalies, splitting starts almost 50/50 of late. Allen is the more experienced of the two, so he's likely the opening night starter, but if he doesn't play well, they'd likely move to Binnington in a heartbeat.

Jake Allen
2018/19: GAA-2.85 (career 2.54); Sv%-.904 (career .911)
Last 5 games: GAA-2.20; Sv%-.919
Career Playoff numbers: GAA-2.10; Sv%-.922

It hasn't been a strong season for Allen overall, but he has been getting hot of late and he does tend to elevate his game in the playoffs. Could be a sleeper.

Jordan Binnington (career numbers are virtually identical to this season):
2018/19: GAA-1.77; Sv%-.931
Last 5 games: GAA-2.00; Sv%-.917

Binnington has cooled off a little of late, but has still put up a very strong year. If Allen falters, Binnington isn't a bad second option.

*I want no part of the Blues who have been playing lights out hockey for a couple of months now to get back into a comfortable playoff spot. Early in the year they were in the basement. This is a deep lineup overall that may lack some star power, but is still a very tough out for any team.

Dallas Stars-Ben Bishop
2018/19: GAA-2.05 (career 2.32); Sv%-.933 (career .920)
Last 5 games: GAA-0.20; Sv%-.993
Career playoff numbers: GAA-2.09 ; Sv%-.927

Nope.....nope nope nope nope nope. No thank you. Add in Seguin and Benn traditionally torching the Flames and this is a recipe for a surprise first round exit for the Flames. It would be my least ideal matchup. I'd take San Jose over Dallas right now. The only thing to add is that Bishop has battled some injury concerns this year, but he seems fine after missing the last game or two.

Las Vegas-Marc-Andre Fleury
2018/19: GAA-2.46 (career 2.55) ; Sv%-.914 (Career .913)
Last 5 games: GAA-0.80 ; Sv%-.976
Career playoff numbers *lots of games played*: GAA-2.58 ; Sv%-.911

Fleury is heating up at the right time despite just an okay season. He's by far the most experienced playoff goalie as a potential matchup, and that could be a major factor. Not a fan of facing Fleury at the moment.

Arizona Coyotes-Antti Raanta, I mean Darcy Kuemper
2018/19: GAA-2.48 (career 2.55); Sv%-.920 (career .914)
Last 5 games: GAA-3.50 ; Sv%-.897 *includes an ugly game against Chicago where he was pulled partway into the 2nd.
Career playoff numbers: GAA-2.13; Sv%-.911

Okay, so in limited playoff time he has elevated his game, but he's been relatively poor in the last few games. Also, when you look at the Coyotes roster, there's little bite to the attack. Even if they defend well and work hard, it's the prime candidate for the Flames to move past easily and gain some confidence in playoff action, especially for our goalies.


All in all, I'd rank it purely on goaltending while looking at the quality of the roster as a secondary trait.

Preferred order:
1. Arizona
2. Minnesota
3. St. Louis
4. Las Vegas
5. Dallas

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Kswiss

A hot Bishop is something I also want no part of

I think that applies to a few walks of life.

[Kswiss]

Originally Posted by Yamer

I think that applies to a few walks of life.

Haha. Heyoooooo

[PugnaciousIntern]

How awesome is it that the Ducks aren’t even an option. Although they obviously don’t scare me this year, I still want nothing to do with them in playoffs.

Also why isn’t Edmonton an option?!?

[CGY12]

Love the faith from the people who say bring on Vegas but tread carefully.

If they are going to take on the Knights I'd prefer it to be in round 2, so the guys who lack experience can gain some in round 1.

[Vinny01]

Coyotes are the obvious choice. The Flames smashed them 3 of their 4 meetings and they are even less experienced in the playoffs than the Flames.

I would like to avoid Vegas because they would be an incredibly tough out. Let the Knights and Sharks go to war for 7 games and hopefully the Flames will be ready for the winner in round 2.