Face-off: 1900 ET, 12/03/2022
Arena: Scotiabank Saddledome
Calgary can move another step closer to winning the Pacific Division title by brushing aside struggling Detroit at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Flames have been red hot of late, going 15-2-1 since the end of January, whereas their opponents arrive on a four-match winless run.
We like 4.1 for a home win by exactly three goals in the first of our Calgary Flames vs Detroit Red Wings predictions.
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Calgary Flames Odds
Admittedly, Calgary have suffered a couple of rare setbacks on home ice this month, but Thursday’s 4-1 victory over Tampa Bay was a clinical display.
Johnny Gaudreau continued his great run of form with a hat-trick, Rasmus Andersson had two assists and Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves.
Head coach Darryl Sutter said of Gaudreau: “Those are momentum goals, all of them. You need those out of your top guys.
“He’s a top player in the league. He has a chance of winning the scoring race on a good team.
“Top guys play on good teams. It makes a difference. That’s what their job is.”
Sutter also hailed the talents of Markstrom and the Flames have only let in one goal in five of their last seven wins.
Looking at the NHL odds here, Calgary to oblige in regular time without conceding twice appeals at 2.8.
Detroit Red Wings Odds
Detroit looked like a team in disarray when beaten 6-2 by Florida and then 9-2 by Arizona, but they did show far more spirit when entertaining Minnesota.
The Red Wings came from behind twice to lead 4-2 at one stage and took the Wild to overtime before going down 6-5 after a shootout.
Lucas Raymond and Jakub Vrana each scored twice, the latter again impressing in his second game after returning from shoulder surgery.
Coach Jeff Blashill said: “There are areas of his game where he needs to get better, but we know how good he is at putting the puck in the net.”
Captain Dylan Larkin added: “In the past few games, we’ve really sunk when the other team has scored first and it was a point of emphasis to stay with our game when things got tough.”
Conceding 20 goals in three matches and 41 in the last seven outings is still an alarming statistic that needs addressing, though.
Calgary have the best first-period goal difference in the league at 67-36, whereas Detroit are 39-61 down.
The hosts are 1.95 to be ahead after 20 minutes and that is another easy pick for our Calgary Flames vs Detroit Red Wings predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
CALGARY 4-1 Tampa Bay
DETROIT 5-6 Minnesota (OT)
Season head-to-head: Detroit 0-3 Calgary
