In their third and last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Colorado Avalanche and the Calgary Flames meet at the Scotiabank Saddledome. This Western Conference matchup will get underway at 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 9 and it’s being shown live on Sportsnet West.
Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames Odds
Colorado (+155) is entering this one as the underdog to Calgary (-175), and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-130 money on the over, +110 on the under).
Netting 6.3 units for moneyline bettors, the Flames are 27-17 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, ranked fifth in the league in this young season, is a welcome improvement over the 37-45 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Of its 44 games this season, 22 have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team is 12-8 SU at home this year.
Calgary has converted on 20.5 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 20th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.4 percent of all penalties.
Calgary, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties 3.7 times per game overall this season, and 4.4 per game over its last five home outings. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for a whopping 13.8 minutes per game over its last five outings, in total.
With a .921 save percentage and 25.2 saves per game, David Rittich (16-9-3) has been the top option in goal for the Flames this season. If they decide to rest him, however, Calgary might roll with Mike Smith (13-10-10 record, .886 save percentage, 3.09 goals against average).
The Flames will continue to look for offensive production from Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Gaudreau (64 points) is up to 26 goals and 38 assists and has recorded two or more points 18 times this year. Monahan has 23 goals and 31 assists to his credit and has notched a point in 29 games.
In the other locker room, Colorado is 20-23 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.1 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 22 of its outings have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under the total and none have pushed. As an away team, Colorado is 11-12 SU so far.
Colorado has converted on 26.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 27th overall and it’s successfully killed off 76.0 percent of all penalties.
Colorado’s skaters have been penalized 4.1 times per game this season, 3.8 per game over their past five outings total, and 3.8 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays 8.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Semyon Varlamov (.912 save percentage and 2.80 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Colorado. Varlamov is averaging 27.7 saves per game and owns an 11-14-5 record.
For the visiting Avalanche, the offense will be facilitated by Mikko Rantanen (19 goals, 47 assists) and Nathan MacKinnon (25 goals, 40 assists).
Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames Betting Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Flames, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- For both of these clubs, the total has gone over in four of their past five games.
- Extra-man opportunities may play a critical role in the outcome of this matchup. The Avalanche are 8-10 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 12-13 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Flames are 17-7 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 18-14 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Calgary skaters have averaged 14.0 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 9.5 takeaways per game (ranked 3rd overall).
- Colorado is ranked 30th with 5.4 takeaways per game. That figure has trended higher recently, as it’s created 6.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.2 takeaways over its last five.
