Flames-Jets Stanley Cup Qualifier series debated by NHL.com

The Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets will play each other in a best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifier series when the NHL season resumes. Though there is no date for the games to start, two NHL.com writers have already started the debate over which team has the edge in the series.

Dave Stubbs, columnist

Right off the bat, I like the fact that the second game this season between the Flames and Jets would be played on neutral ice, as was the first. The teams haven't played since the 2019 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic on Oct. 26, a 2-1 Winnipeg victory in overtime in front of 33,518 fans at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.

This time, I'll go with the Flames for what is clearly their superior winning percentage to this point in the season, all of .001 -- .564 to Winnipeg's .563. I view the Jets being plus-22 against the Flames in goal differential as an inconvenient truth, preferring to focus on the fact that Calgary is 5-3-2 in its past 10 games against Winnipeg since the start of the 2016-17 season, outscoring the Jets 29-18.

Pete Jensen, senior fantasy editor

If points percentage, recent matchups and the outdoor game from earlier in the season are any indication, this will be a tight series. Each offense is deep and rolls two strong lines, so I think the outcome will boil down to goaltending.

Calgary has the unpredictable tandem of David Rittich, who's recovering from an elbow injury, and Cam Talbot, while Winnipeg has a dominant starter in Connor Hellebuyck, who tied Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens for the NHL lead in games played (58) and was second in save percentage (.922) behind Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins (.929) among goalies with at least 40 appearances.

Hellebuyck's heavy workload is not nearly as much of a concern because of the long pause in the season, and his .919 save percentage in 23 career playoff games makes Winnipeg a clear dark horse team in this format. It's also remarkable to think how good Hellebuyck has been this season after the Jets overhauled their defense (not having Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers).

Stubbs

Which, of course, cuts to the chase. Goaltending is one of the great subplots of every series, and this one will be no exception.

No argument about Hellebuyck, who's surely a Vezina Trophy contender this season. It's going to be up to Calgary forwards Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan to solve him, as it will be up to the Flames' Rittich and/or Talbot to steal a game in a series with virtually no margin for error and which, on paper, is almost too tight to call.

While it's not a head-to-head matchup, I like what Flames captain Mark Giordano, the 2018-19 Norris Trophy winner, will bring to the series, Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler is the other side of that equation.

No way will this series be a blowout for either side. And inevitably, someone who's not the largest blip on the radar could decide it. Banged and bruised defenseman Travis Hamonic surely enjoyed the pause to heal up, and I'll go out on a limb to say that he'll be that guy.

Jensen

Tkachuk could be the biggest difference-maker in the entire series, because I don't know that Winnipeg can contain his blend of physical intensity and scoring flair. But when you think that Kyle Connor, widely considered Winnipeg's fourth-best forward behind Scheifele, Patrik Laine and Wheeler, ranks fourth among NHL left wings in points (73 in 71 games), ahead of Tkachuk, I give the slight edge on paper to the Jets.

Another under-the-radar player to watch in this series is Jets center Cody Eakin, who was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 21. The most lethal goal-scorer in this series is Laine, and it's always challenging for Winnipeg to spread out its top guns onto two lines. Eakin, who had five points (one goal, four assists) in eight games after the trade, is the second-line center tasked with getting the most out of Laine at even strength. Eakin also has to defend Flames center Sean Monahan or Mikael Backlund, either of which will be a difficult matchup.