In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the New York Rangers and the Calgary Flames take the ice at the Scotiabank Saddledome. This cross-continent matchup gets underway at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 2 and it can be seen live on Sportsnet Flames.
New York Rangers at Calgary Flames Odds
Calgary (-170) is favored over New York (+150), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -105 money on the over and -115 for the under.
Losing 6.8 units for moneyline gamblers, the Flames are 20-22 straight up (SU) overall in the 2019-20 season. That early-season winning percentage is a noticeable slide from what the team managed during the 2018-19 season (50-32). 22 of its 42 outings have gone under the total, while 17 have gone over and just three have pushed. Thus far, the team is 10-10 SU at home.
Calgary has converted on 18.7 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked eighth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.8 percent of all penalties.
Calgary, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties 3.9 times per game overall this season, and 3.2 per game over its last ten outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 7.2 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
Averaging 28.3 saves per game with a .912 save percentage, David Rittich (17 wins, 15 losses, and five OT losses) has been the principal goalkeeper for the Flames this year. If they choose to give him the night off, however, head coach Geoff Ward may turn to Cam Talbot (3-9-9 record, .915 save percentage, 2.73 goals against average).
Matthew Tkachuk and Sean Monahan will both spearhead the attack for the Flames. Tkachuk (36 points) has tallied 15 goals and 21 assists and has recorded multiple points in nine different games this year. Monahan has 13 goals and 20 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 23 contests.
In the other locker room, New York is 19-20 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 5.8 units this season. A total of 20 of its outings have gone under the total, while 18 have gone over and just one has pushed. New York’s 9-10 SU as the visiting team this season.
New York has converted on 18.7 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 25th overall and it’s successfully killed off 77.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
New York’s players have been whistled for penalties 4.7 times per game this season, and 6.2 per game over their past five match ups. The team has had to kill penalties an unhealthy 15.0 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Henrik Lundqvist (29.5 saves per game) has been the main option in the net for New York. Lundqvist has nine wins, 14 losses, and three OT losses to his credit, while registering a .911 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive push for the visiting Rangers will be Artemi Panarin, who has 22 goals and 33 assists this season.
New York Rangers vs. Calgary Flames Free Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Flames, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in four of their last five matchups.
- The Flames are 9-11 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Rangers are 9-10 SU when they spend more time in the box than the opposition.
- New York is 0-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Calgary is 3-0 in shootouts.
- Calgary is ranked 4th with 8.9 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended higher, as the team has forced 10.1 takeaways over its last 10 games and 9.6 takeaways over its last five.
- New York skaters have averaged 8.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, right in line with its season average of 8.3 takeaways per game (ranked eighth in the NHL).
