Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche: NHL Odds, Prediction

After a nice stretch where the Calgary Flames won seven of nine, things have slowed down for them. They’ve now dropped two straight after a 6-4 loss in Dallas on Friday. Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche also played on Friday night, losing 3-2 in a shootout at Minnesota. Even so, they are 3-1-1 in their last five.

Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche

Date: Saturday, November 25th – 10:00 PM ET
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
NHL Odds: N/A

NHL Odds and Betting Analysis

The Flames have won five of their last seven meetings with the Avalanche – including three games in a row. You might consider betting the over in this game as eight of the Avs last 10 games have gone over the number. Four of the last six meetings – including two of the last three in Colorado – have gone over the number as well.

Calgary Flames

This will wrap up a six-game road trip for the Flames, who fell 1-0 in overtime on Wednesday in Columbus and then 6-4 in Dallas on Friday night.

It will be interesting to see who the Flames go with in net on Saturday as Mike Smith was blitzed for five goals on Friday. He has had an up-and-down month in November. After posting at .931 save percentage in October, he is down to .918 in November. He has allowed three goals or more in five of his last eight starts. The good news is he’s been pretty reliable on the road. Before Friday’s game, he had been 6-1-1 on the road with a .950 save percentage.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche took a loss on Friday night but it came in the shootout. While that doesn’t do bettors any favors, it does keep momentum for the team. They are now 3-1-1 in their last five games.

A key storyline to keep an eye on here is whether the Avs will have top goaltender Semyon Varlamov in the lineup on Saturday. He’s dealing with an illness and didn’t make the trip with the team to Minnesota on Friday. However, he did practice on Thursday. While you’d think the Avs would like to have him back, keep in mind that he’s been bad this year. He has a .902 save percentage this month and has allowed 25 goals in his last six starts. However, the Avs are 7-4-1 in his starts. They are a combined 4-6-0 when he doesn’t start.

The other key factor to this game is home-ice advantage. The Avs are a healthy 7-1-1 at home compared to 4-7-1 on the road. As for the Flames, they are 6-4-1 on the road but have now dropped two straight away games and four of six. The Avs have yet to lose a game at home in regulation when Varlamov starts (4-0-1), so they are the play if he’s in net.

Flames vs. Avalanche prediction:

Avalanche 4-1