Two teams facing each other for the first time this season, the Calgary Flames and the St. Louis Blues clash at the Enterprise Center for a Western Conference showdown. The matchup will get underway at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 11, and you can catch the game live on Sportsnet Flames.
Calgary Flames vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
Calgary is 2-1 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.1 units this season. That SU winning percentage, ranked second in the Pacific Division so far in this young season, is fairly close to what the team managed during the 2017-18 season (37-45). The Flames are 1-1 SU as the road team in 2018-19.
Calgary has found the net on 29.4 percent of its power play opportunities so far. That’s a nice improvement from last year, when it was ranked 28th in the NHL by scoring on 16.0 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has held steady since last year, as the team’s gone from successfully defending 81.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked seventh overall last season) to 81.8 percent this year.
Calgary, as a collective unit, has been penalized 4.0 times per game during the 2018-19 season. Last year, that number was the second-highest mark in the league at 4.4 penalties per game. After serving an average of 11.2 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for just 9.0 minutes per outing this season.
Averaging 25.7 saves per game with a .906 save percentage, Mike Smith (2-1) has been the primary option in goal for Calgary this season.
The visiting Flames have relied heavily on Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk this year. Gaudreau (seven points) is up to one goal and six assists this season; Tkachuk has one goal and five assists to his credit through the early phase of the regular season.
St. Louis is 0-2 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. One of its contests has gone over the total, while zero have gone under and one has pushed. This year, the team is 0-2 SU as the home team.
St. Louis has killed off a remarkable 83.3 percent of all penalties, a few points up from the 79.6 percent the team posted a year ago (when it was ranked 17th overall). It has found the net on 20.0 percent of its power plays this year after converting on 15.4 percent (ranked 30th in league) last season.
St. Louis players have been whistled for penalties 3.0 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 3.3, the third-lowest mark in the NHL. After serving an average of 7.7 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 6.0 minutes per outing this year.
The winless Jake Allen has stopped 22.5 shots per game as the primary option in goal for St. Louis. Allen has zero wins, two losses, and one OT loss and has registered a fairly-weak .818 save percentage and 4.91 goals against average this season.
Calgary Flames at St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Betting Notes
Calgary has managed 31.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while St. Louis is averaging 36.0 shots per game over its last five at home.
Calgary was 2-5 in shootouts last season. St. Louis was 3-0 in games that went to a shootout.
St. Louis’ skaters recorded 7.5 takeaways per game and allowed 5.9 giveaways per contest.
Calgary skaters converted 8.3 takeaways per game while yielding 10.0 giveaways per game in 2017-18
+++++
