NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Canucks vs. Flames (December 14)
Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images. Pictured: Elias Pettersson (right), J.T. Miller (left).
- The Flames host the Canucks on Wednesday night.
- Both these teams sit toward the bottom of the Pacific Division standings, but are hovering around .500.
- Jonny Lazarus digs into the game and offers up his best bet below.
Canucks vs. Flames Odds
| Canucks Odds | +164 |
| Flames Odds | -200 |
| Over/Under | 6.5 (-105/-115) |
| Time | 10 p.m. ET |
| TV | TNT |
The Calgary Flames return home after a three-game road trip where they went winless.
The Vancouver Canucks are coming off of a tough loss as they were shut out at home against the Minnesota Wild, but have been playing solid hockey of late, winning three of their past four games.
This will be the first meeting between these teams this season and the Canucks are looking to continue their strong play on the road, where they have won five straight games.
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have been nowhere near perfect this season, but you can't deny that their top players have been performing. Elias Petterson, J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat are off to phenomenal starts. Especially Horvat, who is leading the team with 20 goals.
The Canucks have been an absolute wagon offensively and boast the ninth-best goals for per game (3.46). Despite being shut out in their previous game, they have scored 13 goals combined in their past three games.
Vancouver has been money on the power play this season, entering this game with the seventh-best man-advantage unit in the league (27.3%). The offense hasn't been a concern for the Canucks this season, but the biggest question mark for them right now is goaltending.
Thatcher Demko is still out due to injury, which means Spencer Martin and Collin Delia will continue to share the blue paint. Martin has an impressive record of 8-3-1, but his numbers have not been as good as he would like. He enters this game with a .891 save percentage and 3.45 goals against average.
The Canucks will get their fair share of scoring chances, the only question is if they will be able to keep the puck out of their own net.
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are nowhere near as good as they were last year, especially in regard to offensive production. They've scored six goals in their past three games and are only averaging 2.97 goals per contest. The Flames have been at the bottom of the league in most offensive categories, they struggle to generate a ton of scoring chances and have a -0.47 goals for above expected. I wouldn't say they're necessarily struggling offensively, but they are definitely not thriving.
Calgary is still trying to figure out its identity now that it's without Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri have been decent in their debut season, but they certainly have not filled the void of the two that left this team in the offseason.
Another area of the Flames' game that hasn't been as good as last year is their goaltending. Jacob Markstrom was one of the best net-minders in the league last season, but this year he is skating to a .897 save percentage with a 2.81 goals against average.
Calgary has the roster to turn things around, but is going to need to find some consistent offensive production.
Canucks vs. Flames Pick
The Canucks might not be perfect, but they have looked incredibly strong on the road as of late, winning five straight games as the away team against some very strong opponents.
The Canucks have the offensive edge, both in even-strength play and on the power play, which could be the x-factor in this game.
Spencer Martin and Jacob Markstrom cancel each other out in goal.
I like the Canucks as a road underdog in this spot, especially because this will be Calgary's fourth game in six nights.
Pick: Canucks Moneyline |
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