Squaring off for the final time this season, the New York Rangers and the Calgary Flames collide at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The opening face-off takes place at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, March 15, and you’ll be able to witness this cross-continent matchup live on Sportsnet West.
New York Rangers at Calgary Flames Odds
Calgary (-300) is the big favorite over New York (+250), and the Over/Under (O/U) is placed at 6 goals (-125 for the over, +105 for the under).
The Flames are 43-27 straight-up (SU) and have netted moneyline bettors 8.3 units this year. That winning percentage, ranked second in the NHL in this young season, is a welcome improvement over the 37-45 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Among its 70 games this season, 38 have gone over the total, while 29 have gone under and just three have pushed. The team’s 22-12 SU at home this season.
Calgary has converted on 21.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated 20th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.9 percent of all penalties.
Calgary, as a collective unit, has been penalized 3.7 times per game overall this season, and 2.2 per game over its last five games home outings. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 6.8 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
With a .909 save percentage and 24.8 saves per game, David Rittich (25 wins, 15 losses, and five OT losses) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Flames this season. If they, however, choose to give him the night off, Calgary could roll with Mike Smith (20-15-15 record, .896 save percentage, 2.90 goals against average).
The Flames will continue looking for leadership from Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm. Gaudreau (90 points) has tallied 33 goals and 57 assists and has recorded two or more points on 24 different occasions this year. Lindholm has 27 goals and 49 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 47 contests.
On the other side of the ice, New York is 28-42 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.0 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 34 of its contests have gone over the total, while 33 have gone under the total and just three have pushed. As the road team, New York is 11-23 SU.
New York has converted on 19.5 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 25th overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.2 percent of all opponent power plays.
New York’s players have been penalized 4.1 times per game in total this season, and 6.6 per game over their last five road outings. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays a whopping 16.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Henrik Lundqvist (29.4 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for New York. Lundqvist has 18 wins, 29 losses, and 10 OT losses to his credit, and has registered a .909 save percentage and 2.99 goals against average this year.
Mika Zibanejad (27 goals, 39 assists) will pace the attack for the visiting Rangers.
New York Rangers at Calgary Flames Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Flames, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in three of their last five matchups.
- New York has managed 29.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Calgary is averaging 35.2 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- Penalties and power plays could prove to be even more critical than usual tonight. The Rangers are 9-10 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 17-24 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Flames are 24-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 31-20 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Two of New York’s past 10 outings have been decided by a shootout. The team’s 0-2 in those games and 6-4 overall in shootouts this season.
- Calgary is ranked 4th overall with 9.7 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended down recently, however, as the team has averaged 8.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 9.0 takeaways over its last five.
- New York has managed 4.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 8.2 takeaways per game (ranked ninth in the NHL).
- Calgary may hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 16-13 in games decided by one goal, while New York is only 16-22 in such games.
