The Calgary Flames are somewhat fortunate to be in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race as they prepare to host the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. The Flames come out of the all-star break as one of five teams within a point of top spot in the Pacific Division but are the only team among that quintet with a negative goal differential.
- Date/Time: January 28, 9 p.m. ET
- Arena: Scotiabank Saddledome
- TV Coverage: FS-MW, SNW, SNP
- Sportsbook Odds: Blues -115 | O/U 5.5
- Blues vs Flames Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Blues opened as ever-so-slight favorites, but the odds have flipped in the Flames’ favor (-115) at the majority of sportsbooks. The total remains steady at 5.5 (-110/-110).
St. Louis News & Notes
The Blues are mired in a three-game losing streak during which they’ve allowed 12 goals, but they remain one of the stingiest units in the league, with their 2.68 goals-against average for the season ranking seventh-best. And they’ve been sensational on the back end of games on back-to-back nights, going 4-1 SU in five such situations on the year.
If the Blues hope to end their losing ways Tuesday, they’ll almost certainly need to be better with the man advantage. While St. Louis comes into this one with the league’s No. 4 power play at 24.8 percent, it has gone just 2-for-13 over the past three games; for the sake of comparison, it went 3-for-8 over the four-game winning streak that preceded its current losing skid.
Calgary News & Notes
Every season, one or two teams squeak into the postseason despite being less deserving than some non-playoff participants – and through their first 50 games of the season, the Flames certainly fit the bill. Working most notably in their favor is a perfect 5-0 record in shootouts; they’re one of only four teams yet to lose a shootout this season, while no club has more SO wins.
But that success in the sudden-death format has masked a number of problems – particularly on offense, where Calgary will need to be a lot better if it hopes to remain in the postseason picture. The Flames rank 25th in the league in goals per game (2.60) and were especially barren leading into the break, with just 12 goals scored over their previous six games.
Betting Pick: UNDER
Taking an UNDER 5.5 in today’s NHL landscape is always risky – but if two teams are worthy of the play, it’s the Flames and Blues, who have made a habit of playing low-scoring games at Scotiabank Saddledome.
- St. Louis is 0-5 SU in its past 5 road games.
- Calgary is 6-2 in its last 8 games.
- The UNDER is 14-6 in the previous 20 meetings in Calgary.
