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Posted at 11:30 AM EST

10:05 PM EST. OT included. The script for the Flames couldn't have been written any better, as, after 30 years, the franchise posted its second 50 win season, which is significant because they raised Lord Stanley's Cup in the most hallowed of hockey halls, the Montreal Forum, the last time they accomplished that feat. Now we like a good story as much as the next person, but you can take that three-decade-old narrative, put it in your pipe and smoke it. Don't worry. We're pretty sure it's legal, at least in Canada anyway. The Flames are a fierce bunch, no doubt, but our concerns about their shaky goaltending have not changed. Mike Smith will get the start tonight because he's posted a 1.94 goals-against average in his last 11 starts and he’s getting paid the big bucks, but trust us when we tell you, a correction is coming to that impressive number. If you read the Calgary Sun, you may have come across this headline, "Flames safe to rely on experienced playoff goalie Smith." We won't go into all of the problems with that statement, but suffice to say, Smith's 16-game run with Phoenix in 2012, which in hindsight, is viewed as a Cinderella story, is not something we'd be comfortable putting much stock into. Let us also not forget that it wasn't the plucky Coyotes that made a run to the finals that season, it was L.A. that was in the number 8 seed. Phoenix was actually the higher seed in that Western Conference final as the No. 3. The Flames are the West's top team headed into these playoffs and the pressure is all on them and their veteran goaltender. If Smith can keep his hot streak going, then so be it, but the Avalanche have just as much firepower and a goaltender that's just as scorching and that can be relied on.

The Avalanche had a rotating door of goaltenders this season, but Philipp Grubauer was finally given the time to shine and took his team on his back with a 7-0-2 run to get the final Wild Card spot out west. Grubauer is not likely to get stage fright when the lights are the brightest, as he was trusted to start for the Capitals when the playoffs began last season because Braden Holtby didn't know if he was coming or going. The Avs will welcome Mikko Rantanen back into the fold tonight after he missed the final eight games of the regular season with an injury. Even with his extended absence, Rantanen set a career high in goals (31) and points (87). Colorado's top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Rantanen scored 106 of their side's 258 tallies. Unlike the Flames, the Avs are free rolling in every sense of the word and that makes them dangerous and very much worth a wager here. There is just too much value on a team that has one great line, a very decent defense and a hot goaltender in a sport that is so luck driven. How many goalposts and deflections were there last night? Every winner last night with the exception of the Sharks was a luck-driven winner and it’s a strong reason why these underdogs are so LIVE in the playoffs. This one is live too.  

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