If you thought the NHL season was a little bizarre, just stay tuned. It gets a little weirder.

The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks are going to wind up playing each other in the last four games of the season. There is really no drama to be had; the games will not have an impact on the playoff race.

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The last two of these matchups, next Tuesday and Wednesday – believe it or not – are going to be taking place the same day as NHL first-round playoff games. In case you thought that was somehow a grammatical error, it isn’t. They will actually be concluding their regular season in a way in which it is overlapping the playoffs.

Of course, this condition has to exist in lieu of canceling games altogether, because the COVID protocols forced the games to be postponed. And because they had so many dates to make up, they were not necessarily eliminated from playoff consideration until just recently.

And if there is any “race” to be considered, it is to escape the North Division cellar, as Calgary and Ottawa were sitting with 49 points, with Vancouver trailing with 45.

And, naturally, there is the idea of starting the “rebuild” process, which is what losing teams do.

Thursday’s game takes place at the Scotiabank Saddledome, with the puck being dropped at 9:08 PM ET, and there is a way to cash in with this “meaningless” game.

Here’s the setup:

Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames Preview

Canucks vs. Flames Predictions

When: 9:08 PM ET (Thursday)

Money Line: Flames -175 / Canucks +155

Total: Over 5.5 Goals -120 / Under 5.5 Goals +100

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Sean Monahan, who has had an off year, with just 28 points, has been shut down for these last four games and will be getting hip surgery. Even with the meager point total, he was fourth-leading scorer on the club. The Flames just did not have enough offensive firepower, averaging only 2.6 goals per game.

Calgary has lost just three games in overtime. Only three teams – Vegas, Edmonton and Nashville – has suffered fewer losses in extra time.

There were certain things they could have done to get much closer to playoff contention. Consider that one of the reasons the Flames only had those three overtime losses is that they suffered ten of their 26 regulation time defeats by a single goal.

And they did not do a very good job playing from behind. In 23 games in which they trailed after two periods, they won only once.

And there was a lot to digest when it came to shifting gears after Darryl Sutter was named the interim head coach. And it should be noted that even though Calgary has won four of the six meetings, these teams have not played since February 17, which was before Sutter assumed the reins.

There is a certain home bias here that works in favor of the Flames. They have outscored the opposition by an 81-74 margin in the Saddledome, but perhaps more importantly, they have produced 115 more shots on goal than their opposition on their home ice.

Meanwhile, the Canucks have been outscored by 25 goals on the road, although the margin isn’t so severe in the first period (27-23). The real killer has been the last two periods, where they have been on the short end of a 62-39 differential. When their opponent scores first, Vancouver is 1-13-1 on the road.

The Canucks have won eight games as the visitor. And in those games they have lost as the visitor, they have gotten to within one goal only two out of 16 times. That’s something for bettors to consider.

So often enough, they’re not making it close. So there is less of a chance for Calgary to get into that “one-goal” conundrum.

The Canucks have a make-up game against Edmonton after this, which means that in the last 6-1/2 days of their season (the last two against Calgary are afternoon contests), they’ll have to play five times.

Yeah, the Flames are waving the white flag a little by sitting Monahan, but the Canucks are very banged up. Elias Pettersson would have been the team’s leading scorer, but he has missed 25 with an upper body injury. Brandon Sutter, part of that endless hockey family, also has an upper body injury and may not be able to go against his uncle Darryl, who is directing things from behind the bench on the other side. There are other forwards in various stages of hurt.

And this is Vancouver’s third game in four nights and 13th since April 28th. They’ve had to make up ground, as they were sidelined for a three-week period from late March to mid-May. They are tired. They looked just awful the other night against Winnipeg. They have been taking a look at the young guys.

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They don’t score any more than the Flames do (just under 2.7 goals per game). And coach Travis Green, whose contract expires next week and has not been offered an extension, has no idea where he’ll be.

It’s not that the Canucks have given up – indeed they’ve beaten the Jets and Oilers over the last week or so. But they may not be in the best of situations here, while Calgary’s home numbers count for something. So we swallow hard and lay the price. Puck lines may be a possibility as well.

The Play: CALGARY (-175)