Pacific Division rivals Vegas Golden Knights and the Calgary Flames will be facing off against each other Wednesday night. The Knights are currently occupying the top spot of the division with 59 points, while the Flames have 52 – three points back of the third place, thus highlighting the importance of this contest. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NHL odds series, which includes our Golden Knights-Flames prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Golden Knights-Flames odds:
NHL odds: Golden Knights-Flames Odds
Golden Knights: +1.5 (-235)
Flames: -1.5 (+186)
Over: 6.0 (-118)
Under: 6.0 (-106)
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Why the Golden Knights Could Cover the Spread
The Golden Knights are on the rise again. After consecutive losses to the Carolina Hurricanes and to the Florida Panthers to conclude their January schedule, the Golden Knights gathered themselves and have now won three games in a row. Vegas last saw action on Tuesday in a 4-0 road win over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, which saw netminder Laurent Brossoit keep McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scoreless. Brossoit is likely to return to his backup role and give way to Robin Lehner. The 30-year-old Lehner has been impressive over his last two starts, to say the least.
In Vegas' 3-2 road in versus the defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 29, Lehner turned away 27 of 29 shots before making 30 saves on 32 shots faced in a 5-2 home victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 1. A long rest should have Lehner 100% ready for the high-flying Flames. On the season, Lehner is 10th in the NHL with a 19-12-1 record to go with a 2.77 GAA and .910 SV%. He is coming off a smooth January in which he went 3-0-1 with a 2.09 GAA and .920 SV%. Vegas is a solid possession squad, ranking 10th with a 52.0 CF% and is even better when it comes to creating quality shots, as the Golden Knights are third with a 113.2 xGF this season, per hockey-reference. The Golden Knights have won nine of their past 11 games away from Sin City.
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Why the Flames Could Cover the Spread
Calgary has some fresh legs after a week of rest. The Flames hope that they're still hot after such a long rest, as they have won all of their last three games and five of their past six. In their most recent outing, the Flames torched the lowly Arizona Coyotes on the road, 4-2 — the second straight game where Calgary buried four goals. The Flames' strong possession play was in full display in the Coyotes game in which Calgary outshot their opponent, 50-28. In addition, the Coyotes have outshot the last five teams they've faced by a wide margin, 213-122. That's a large reason why Calgary is always a huge threat to any team this season. They can overwhelm teams with a flurry of shots, many of which are high-danger ones. In fact, Calgary is No. 1 in the NHL so far this season with a 55.9 HDF%.
However, it's also important to note that the Flames often come up short in converting those shots, as they have the fewest goals off high-danger attempts. It's not a good look for Calgary, but this game against the Golden Knights could be where the Flames truly capitalize on their ability to generate those kinds of shots. After all, Vegas' opponents have converted 13.0 percent of their' high-danger attempts into goals. Don't get surprised if the top line of Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, Johnny Gaudreau throttle the Golden Knights. That line is tops in the NHL among lines that have played at least 125 minutes, with a 30.2 xGoals For, per Money Puck.
Final Golden Knights-Flames Prediction & Pick
Vegas has a very short turnaround, having played just last night against the Oilers. There could be some rust on the part of Calgary but the deeper this game goes, the more it becomes favorable for the puck-hungry Flames. As mentioned earlier, the Flames are so great in taking control of the puck and creating high-danger shots. While they usually brick those attempts, the Knights might not have the needed energy to keep up with Johnny Hockey and the Flames. Taking the Flames to cover the puck line here.
Final Golden Knights-Flames Pick: Flames -1.5 (+186)
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