Who's ready for some Tuesday night hockey action? In this edition, the Calgary Flames will face off with the St. Louis Blues in what should be a Western Conference treat. Join us for our NHL odds series where our Flames-Blues prediction and pick will be revealed.
Coming into this one at 19-14-8, the Flames find themselves in the thick of a heated race in the standings as Calgary boasts the fourth-most points in the Pacific Division. Although the Flames are off to a slower-than-expected start this season after finishing with one of the best records a year ago, the Flames still possess enough talent to overwhelm the Blues out on the ice.
When it comes to the Blues, St. Louis has reeled off wins in three of their previous five games and is trying to stay afloat in their pursuit of returning to the postseason. However, similarly to Calgary, St. Louis has struggled to consistently win this season and will be seeking the start of a long winning streak versus the Flames this evening.
Here are the Flames-Blues NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Flames-Blues Odds
Calgary Flames: -1.5 (+152)
St. Louis Blues: +1.5 (-192)
Over: 6 (+100)
Under: 6 (-122)
How To Watch Flames vs. Blues
TV: ESPN+
Stream: NHLPP/ESPN+
Time: 8:00 ET/5:00 PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Flames Could Cover The Spread
At first glance upon this Flames roster, the bad news for bettors planning on putting some money down on Calgary is that they have struggled in covering the spread all season long. In fact, the Flames are only 16-25 ATS and have yet to look like the dominant team that they were from last season's successful campaign.
Nevertheless, even though the Flames have lost some key playmaking skaters from last year's squad, Calgary has at least recorded a point in 14 of their previous 18 matchups overall and is hopeful that they are trending in the right direction.
On paper, the main priority for the Flames ahead of this one will be their goaltending situation. Conversely, Calgary was forced to pull goalie Jacob Markstrom midway through the second period after the net-minder gave up three goals on only 11 shots on goal. While Markstrom may end up getting the start in goal for another go at it, the 32-year-old goaltender's leash has gotten considerably shorter with backup Dan Vladar lurking in the shadows. Regardless, the Flames are an above-average defensive unit but should have an advantage against a Blues offensive attack that has remained as an underwhelming unit for the majority of the season up to this point.
Why The Blues Could Cover The Spread
While the Blues did get off to an extremely slow start, they have slowly but surely begun digging themselves out of a deep hole to try to save their season. So far, it is working as the Blues have gone 8-3-3 over the course of their previous 14 games despite being hit with a rash of devastating injuries.
To begin, the Blues are a much more efficient team when covering the spread with a 20-21 record in comparison to the Flames' lackluster mark, but St. Louis has still scuffled largely when playing in front of their home fans. A year ago, the Blues accumulated a 26-10-5 at Enterprise Center but have bafflingly only gone 7-8-2 only a few short months later. Obviously, St. Louis has not looked like the same team that gave the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche their toughest test in the postseason, but their shortcomings on home ice is slightly concerning moving forward.
Luckily, the Flames have been pretty average out on the road through the first half of the regular season, and feeding off of the hectic home crowd energy could prove to be dividends if St. Louis can get off to a solid start in the opening period of play.
Most importantly, the biggest aspect that the Blues need to perfect to get the job done will come in the form of their penalty attack. Surprisingly enough, St. Louis has converted on 24% of their power play opportunities including going 1-for-4 on the extra-man advantage in the 3-0 shutout victory over the Wild. One glimpse at the Flames' sturdy penalty-killing unit suggests that the Blues will have to work for goals when presented with the power play. Alas, capitalizing on Calgary's mistakes may be the key to covering for a win-starved Blues bunch.
Final Flames-Blues Prediction & Pick
Despite the Flames and Blues being rather disappointing in the first half of the season-long campaign, each side will be meeting up for play with some much-needed confidence as of late. With that being said, expecting the Flames to win by more than one goal seems like a tough ask even with St. Louis being rather pedestrian in their home building.
Final Flames-Blues Prediction & Pick: Blues +1.5 (-192)
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