A couple of teams facing each other for the first time this season, the Detroit Red Wings and the Calgary Flames face off at the Scotiabank Saddledome. This East-West matchup gets started at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 17 and it’s being shown live on Fox Sports Detroit.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Calgary Flames Odds
Calgary (-225) is currently the solid favorite over Detroit (+185). If you want to put some action on the matchup’s Over/Under (O/U) total, you’ll be looking at -115 for over 6 goals and +-105 for under under..
Producing -2.5 units for moneyline gamblers, the Flames are 3-4 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That early-season winning percentage is a regression from the 50-32 record that the team posted during the 2018-19 season campaign. Out of the team’s seven regular season matches, four of them have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. The team’s 2-1 SU at home thus far.
Calgary has successfully scored on 13.6 percent of its power play opportunities in 2019-20. That’s a significant drop-off from last season, when it was ranked 18th in the league by scoring on 19.3 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year as it has gone from successfully defending 79.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 18th overall last season) to 85.2 percent this year.
As a collective unit, Calgary has been penalized 4.7 times per game this season, a number that has climbed some from last year’s 3.7 penalties per game the team gave up. After serving an average of 9.0 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to kill penalties for 11.4 minutes per outing this year.
Averaging 29.3 saves per game with a .912 save percentage, David Rittich (3-3-1) has been the primary option in goal for the Flames this year. If they choose to rest him, however, the team could turn to Cam Talbot (0-1-1 record, .850 save percentage, 3.16 goals against average).
The Flames will continue to look for offensive production from Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. Gaudreau (seven points) has produced three goals and four assists while Tkachuk has two goals and four assists to his name so far in the early stages of the season.
On the other side of the ice, Detroit is 3-3 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 2.3 units this season. Through six regular season outings, three of its games have gone over the total, while one has gone under the total and two have pushed. Detroit’s 2-1 SU as the road team this season.
Detroit’s scored on 11.1 percent of its power play chances this year after successfully converting on 18.1 percent of its extra-man opportunities in 2018-19 (a percentage that was just below league average). The team has gone from killing off 77.0 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 28th overall last season) to 72.2 percent in 2019-20.
Detroit’s players have been penalized 3.5 times per game this season, a number that’s fairly close to the 3.5 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 7.9 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has had to kill penalties for 8.3 minutes per matchup this season.
Jimmy Howard (.910 save percentage and 3.40 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Detroit. Howard is averaging 33.7 saves per game and owns a 1-2 record.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Red Wings will be Anthony Mantha (six goals, three assists) and Tyler Bertuzzi (three goals, four assists).
Detroit Red Wings vs. Calgary Flames Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Flames, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in three of Calgary’s last five outings.
- The Flames are 0-2 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 1-3 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
- After losing all four of its shootouts last year, Calgary is off to a 1-0 start in shootouts this season. Detroit was 3-5 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
