Will the Flames remain the No.1 team in the Pacific Division?

No.1 vs.No.2 is the name of the game on Thursday when the Calgary Flames host the Los Angeles Kings in the top game of the Pacific Division. It’s a matchup of two of the positive surprises of the season, though both have stumbled of late.

The Flames lost three of their last five home games, the Kings even six of their last ten games in total. Therefore, at least one team has to get back on track on Friday night. Statistically, that would have to be the Flames.

Not only did Calgary win their only meeting so far this season, but they also have by far the best home record in the division at 21-7-6, despite their three recent losses. However, LA are stronger away than at home, so it should still be close.

We don’t see a blowout win here, but for Calgary vs. LA our prediction is still a win for the home team, even if it could only come with a one goal difference or even after overtime.

Calgary Flames – Statistics & Current Form

The Flames are still the surprise team of this season and for this reason the title “Coach of the Year” is already given to Darryl Sutter with high probability. Only a complete collapse towards the end of the season could prevent this.

However, this is not to be expected, because in contrast to the previous season, the Flames often catch themselves again after weak performances this season. For example, the recent surprising home defeats against Buffalo and San Jose were immediately followed by victories.

Flames often unfocused against weaker teams

What is noticeable is that Calgary’s best performances have been against stronger teams and they have lost to weaker teams (Canadiens, Sabres, Sharks). However, they were convincing again against the Oilers and also in the narrow defeat against Colorado.

Especially the defeat against the Avs on Tuesday can be called unfortunate and also undeserved, as they clearly led in shots at the end with 45:30. Giving up 45 shots against the top team of the league, that already speaks for an enormous strength.

It rises and falls with the offence

Defensively, the Flames continue to be one of the top teams in the league (2.45 goals against per game, NHL 2nd). That means they always win their games when they get into the flow offensively as well. Like against Edmonton when they put up nine goals.

But if they don’t (as they did against Colorado), it will be difficult. Since the Kings are also a top 10 team defensively, things could get tight on Thursday. For Flames vs. Kings a bet on Calgary is possible, but depending on the betting odds not very profitable.

So, as an alternative, we could imagine betting on either Kings +2 or a draw, depending on your risk appetite.

Key Players:
G: Jacob Marktstrom
D: Noah Hanifin
D: Rasmus Andersson
LW: Johnny Gaudreau
C: Elias Lindholm
RW: Matthew Tkachuk

Los Angeles Kings – Statistics & current form

The Kings are not so easy to pick at the moment. They blow out the Nashville Predators 6-1, only to go down by the exact same score against Seattle a few days later. So how strong are they?

It really depends on the day, and since they play Edmonton on Wednesday, the best solution would be to take a look at that result before betting. If they win there, then it could look rather bad for Thursday.

Back-to-back game usually not a problem

We saw a good example of this just a fortnight ago with LA. There they lost the first game of a back-to-back 5-0 to the Sharks, only to beat the clearly favoured Panthers 3-2 the following day.

This strength in consecutive games is somewhat surprising when we consider the average age of the squad, which is higher than most other teams. But the old guard can still manage their forces very efficiently.

Betting odds favour tips on LA

For Thursday now, the bookmakers see the Flames so far ahead that bets on them are hardly bettable. Thus, we need fallback options. This arises for Flames vs Kings with a tip on LA +2, with which we still get a decent value – at manageable risk.

Key Players:
G: Jonathan Quick
D: Mikey Anderson
D: Drew Doughty
LW: Alex Iafallo
C: Anze Kopitar
RW: Adrian Kempe

Calgary Flames – Los Angeles Kings head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The head-to-head comparison between these two teams is completely even over the last few years. 5-5 from the last ten games, 10-10 from the last 20. The only duel this season went to the Flames quite narrowly, 3-2.

We could very well imagine a similar result for Thursday, as both teams are among the top 10 teams defensively. We don’t expect more than 6.5 goals, even though Kings games have often been high-scoring lately.

For Flames vs. Kings, the odds on subpar points are thus also still an exciting alternative, which would also solve our problem of the Flames’ very clear favourite status.

Calgary Flames – Los Angeles Kings Tip

The Flames are the clear favourites in this duel. But are they really? After all, it’s the No.1 team in the division against the No.2 and both teams are separated by just seven points. In addition, the Kings have recently proven that back-to-back games don’t matter much to them.

For this reason, Calgary vs. Los Angeles forecast tip on Kings +2 is even more recommended than win bets on the Flames. The Flames could end up ahead, but not by as much as the oddsmakers are expecting.

An alternative in this matchup is to bet on Matthew Tkachuk to score. In his last five games he has scored twelve of them (4 goals, 8 assists).