By Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, and the Calgary Flames will do battle against Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center in a Western Conference showdown. This one gets underway at 9 p.m. ET on Monday, December 9 and it’ll air live on Altitude Sports & Entertainment.
Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche Odds
Netting moneyline bettors 9.9 units, Colorado is 19-10 straight up (SU) overall in the 2019-20 season. That winning percentage, ranked fourth in the league so far in this young season, is a welcomed improvement compared to what the team did during last year’s regular season (38-44). Of its 29 games this season, 14 have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under and just two have pushed. Thus far, the team is 8-4 SU at home.
The Avalanche have converted on 19.1 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 22nd overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 76.8 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 27.3 saves per game with a .914 save percentage, Philipp Grubauer (11-7-2) has been the primary option in goal for the Avs this season. If Colorado decides to rest him, however, the team may turn to Pavel Francouz (8-3-3 record, .931 save percentage, 2.24 goals against average).
Calgary has lost 4.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year and is currently 15-16 straight up (SU). Through 31 regular season matches, 19 of its games have gone under the total, while 10 have gone over and just two have pushed. The Flames are 6-11 SU as an away team this season.
The Flames have converted on 17.5 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 11th overall and it’s successfully defended 84.1 percent of all penalties.
David Rittich (2.69 goals against average and .914 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Calgary. Rittich is averaging 29.0 saves per game and owns a 13-11-4 record.
Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
73.7 percent of Colorado’s wins have come by two or more goals (the team is 14-6 overall in games decided by at least two scores) while only 40.0 percent of Calgary’s wins have come by two goals or more (6-10 overall in games decided by at least two goals).
Penalties and power plays could play a key role in tonight’s matchup. The Flames are 6-5 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 10-10 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Avalanche are 11-5 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 13-4 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
For both of these teams, the game went under the total in three of their last five outings.
Calgary has averaged 8.2 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 11.2 giveaways per game (ranked 24th in the NHL).
Colorado skaters have averaged 9.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 8.3 giveaways per game (the 5th-fewest in the NHL).
