Calgary Flames vs. Minnesota Wild: NHL Odds, Prediction
It’s a quick one-game road trip for Calgary on Tuesday night as the Flames make their first visit of the season to Minnesota, which hasn’t yet played to its 2016-17 level.
Flames vs. Wild Betting Analysis
Second of three meetings, with Calgary going back to the Twin Cities on Jan. 9.
On Oct. 21, the Flames were -165 home favourites but lost to the Wild 4-2. Calgary took a 2-1 lead early in the third period on a power-play goal from Kris Versteeg. But Minnesota defenceman Ryan Suter tied it at the 10:33 mark, and he assisted on the game-winner by Jared Spurgeon (a 40-foot slapper) at 12:08. Suter was the game’s No. 1 star. Daniel Winnik added a clincher at 18:57. Alex Stalock, not No. 1 Devan Dubynk, was in net. Sean Monahan had the other Calgary goal and Mike Smith had 28 saves.
Last year, the Flames visited Minnesota once and won 1-0. Johnny Gaudreau had the only goal on the power play at 6:05 of the first. Former Flames goalie Chad Johnson was the No. 1 star with 27 saves, while Dubnyk was the No. 2 with 26. Minnesota took eight penalties, which led to six Flames power-play chances.
Calgary is 4-1 in the past five meetings overall, but Minnesota has won five of its past six at home this season.
Calgary Flames
Calgary (16-12-2) won its second straight game Saturday, 4-2 over visiting Vancouver. Matthew Tkachuk had two goals, the first to tie the game at 11:34 of the third and the second to clinch it at 19:36 on an empty net. He now has six goals on the season. Sam Bennett had the game-winner at 18:50 of the third. He has points in six of the past seven games with three goals and seven assists overall in that span. Troy Brouwer had Calgary’s other goal.
Mike Smith made 22 saves in the 500th game of his career. He’s the 80th goalie in league history to reach that mark. Jaromir Jagr missed a third straight game with a lower-body injury and is questionable for Tuesday. If there was one negative from the win it was that Calgary had just one shot on four power-play attempts.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota (15-11-3) has gone to overtime in three of its past four games and won all three. It was 4-3 on Sunday night in San Jose. Nino Niederreiter scored unassisted 3:26 into the extra period. It was his 10th goal of the season, third-most on the team. Eric Staal added two goals and Ryan Murphy the other, coming on the power play. Staal leads the team in scoring with 26 points (12 G, 14 A). Stalock had 31 saves but blew a 3-0 lead.
It should be Dubynk back in there Tuesday as the Wild return from a three-game California swing. Dubnyk is 12-8-2 with a 2.73 GAA and .914 save percentage.
Flames vs Wild Prediction
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