The Calgary Flames led the Western Conference in points last season but have disappointed so far this campaign as they welcome the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues to town in Tuesday’s lone nationally televised NHL game. The Flames will be favored on the NHL odds.
How to Bet Blues vs Flames 2020 NHL Lines, Analysis & Prediction
- When: Tuesday, 9 PM ET
- Where: Scotiabank Saddledome
- TV: RSN
- Stream: NHL.tv
- Radio: St. Louis / Calgary
- Opening NHL Lines: Flames -1.5
Why Bet on St. Louis?
The Blues are 2-0 vs. the Flames this season. They won 3-2 in over time in Calgary on Nov. 9. David Perron scored a power-play goal 2:46 into overtime. After TJ Brodie was sent off for holding in the extra period, the Blues took advantage as Perron scored on a one-timer off a pass from Ryan O’Reilly. O’Reilly and Ivan Barbashev also scored for St. Louis, and Jordan Binnington stopped 27 shots. Matthew Tkachuk and Travis Hamonic scored in a 5:05 stretch late in the third period to tie the score for Calgary after St. Louis led 2-0. David Rittich finished with 25 saves.
On Nov. 21 in St. Louis, the Blues prevailed 5-0. Binnington stopped 40 shots for his sixth career shutout. His biggest save came late in the second when he halted Johnny Gaudreau on a breakaway. Oskar Sundqvist scored twice, Zach Sanford had a goal and three assists, David Perron and Vince Dunn also scored and Robert Thomas added three assists to lead the Blues to their largest victory margin of season. It was Sundqvist’s first two-goal game since scoring twice in a 5-3 win over Vegas on Nov. 1, 2018.
For Monday’s game against Vancouver, the Blues got back defenseman Colton Parayko. He had missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury. The team also has put winger Troy Brouwer on waivers. Brouwer has played in 10 games with the Blues this season and he has one goal. He also has nine shots and five penalty minutes. The move indicates that a return for Sammy Blais (wrist) is probably close to a return. Blais hasn’t played since Nov. 19 following wrist surgery.
Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is having a career year offensively. :Since Chief’ came in, him and I really, we see the game well,” Pietrangelo said of coach Craig Berube. “The system fits me well. I think offensively, we’re probably more skilled than we’ve ever been, which allows me to make some more plays. I think we're deeper than we’ve ever been. All those things help really any player in the system.”
He has 13 goals and 40 points through 49 games this campaign. Pietrangelo is also tied the league lead in power-play points (20) among defensemen. He is on pace to reach the 60-point plateau for the first time in his career. Pietrangelo has surpassed 50 points three times before.
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.18
- Shots: 30.36
- PP/PK Percentage: 24.83
- Goals: 2.74
- Shots: 30.08
- PP/PK Percentage: 17.24
Why Bet on Calgary?
The Flames have been off since a 5-2 upset loss in Ottawa on Jan. 18. Marcus Hogberg made 40 saves as the Senators ended a nine-game skid. It marked the 25-year-old’s second NHL win in 13 career starts. Hogberg has seen substantial playing time as Anders Nilsson remains sidelined with a concussion. The Senators have played the 25-year-old instead of veteran Craig Anderson, who could be moved at the trade deadline.
Mark Jankowski scored and Noah Hanifin had goals in the loss for Ottawa. Mikael Backlund, Mark Giordano, and Travis Hamonic each registered an assist in the losing effort. It was Jankowski’s first goal of the season after going the previous 38 games without finding the back of the net. David Rittich stopped 16 of 20 shots. Rittich allowed two goals on eight shots in the second period. He’s lost four of his last six games.
Buddy Robinson has been recalled from the AHL by Calgary. Robinson has 16 goals and 30 points in 40 games with Stockton of the AHL this season. He hasn’t played in the NHL since 2016-17 when he appeared in four matches with Ottawa. Robinson has one goal and one assist in seven career NHL outings, which all came with the Senators.
The Calgary Flames have not had a lot of success of late after returning from their bye week, which is what they are doing here. The Flames lost five of six games last season after the bye week and were 0-2-4 the year before, so there is some history to look at.
“We’ve talked about it, obviously,” head coach Geoff Ward said. “We’re right in the middle of a playoff race now and every game is important to us, so we want to make sure we’re ready coming off the break. It’s nothing we’re talking about a lot, but we do want to make sure we’re controlling how we’re preparing to play and, for us, we talk about it all the time but it’s one game at a time for us and right now we want to make sure we’re ready to play Tuesday. Get some battle in, just review some systems play, work on some tactics. All those things, basically, to get the saw sharpened a bit again."
The Flames are underachieving this season because their two stars are. Sean Monahan’s goals-per-60 minutes of 0.61 is lower than it has ever been, both five-on-five and overall. His points-per-60 in both categories is the lowest we’ve seen in five years, dating back to his first two NHL seasons. Gaudreau’s assists-per-60 and points-per-60 are at career low rates, which includes his rookie season. Mark Giordano won the Norris Trophy last year, but Giordano has fallen off a cliff offensively.
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 2.70
- Shots: 31.34
- PP/PK Percentage: 18.49
- Goals: 2.94
- Shots: 32.38
- PP/PK Percentage: 17.53
NHL Betting Trends for Blues vs Flames
- St. Louis are 12-6 SU in their last 18 games
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of St. Louis’ last 9 games
- Calgary are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Calgary’s last 6 games
Blues vs Flames Expert NHL Betting Prediction
Flames 3, Blues 2
