Morning Coffee: Best Bet For Game 2 Of The Battle Of Alberta

The Battle of Alberta started with the highest scoring Stanley Cup playoff game since 1993.

Excuse my pessimism, but I’m not betting on a Mike Smith shutout in the rematch tonight.

While we might not see 15 goals again in Game 2, we’ll only need half of that number for a second consecutive over to start the series.

In Thursday morning’s column, I pointed out that you could find the total for tonight’s game at 6.5 at FanDuel Sportsbook.

We haven’t seen a significant adjustment on that number yet, with a slight tick on the over from -114 to -118.  

While I like the over in Calgary again tonight, I’ve circled a player prop as my best bet for Game 2.

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Friday, May 20th, 2022. 

Banking On Another Big Game From Tkachuk In Game 2

In Game 1, Matthew Tkachuk became the first player to score a playoff hat trick for the Flames since Theo Fleury did it in 1995.

Tkachuk scored three goals on eight shots on goal, including a power play marker with his family cheering him on in the stands.

.@NHLFlames to record a playoff hat trick: Matthew Tkachuk (Wednesday vs EDM) Theoren Fleury (May 13, 1995 vs SJS) Mike Sullivan (May 11, 1995 vs SJS) Hakan Loob (April 10, 1988 vs LAK) Doug Risebrough (May 4, 1986 vs STL) Paul Reinhart (Apr 8, 1984 vs VAN & Apr 14, 1983 vs EDM) pic.twitter.com/LHuCIZZN9c

The 24-year-old is up to 14 shots on goal in his past two games.

He’s played some of his best hockey against the Oilers, with six goals and 11 points in five games dating back to the regular season. 

Calgary has scored 18 goals in its past two wins over Edmonton.

#Flames Matthew Tkachuk after 9-6 win: “Not good, not good at all. That’s probably our worst game of the playoffs so far. We got super lucky. That’s