Two points are on the mind of both teams on Thursday night as the Calgary Flames visit the Minnesota Wild for the rubber game of their three-game season series. The series is level after Minnesota won 2-0 in early November and Calgary answered 4-1 in early December. The latest numbers show a clear contrast, with the Flames struggling mightily and the Wild in a playoff position in the Western Conference. Here, I break down this matchup on the ice and give you my Flames vs Wild prediction.
Our Flames vs Wild Pick
Confidence: 3/5
Game Snapshot
- Matchup: Calgary Flames vs Minnesota Wild
- Date & Time: Thursday, January 29, 2026, 8:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Broadcast: ESPN+
Key Storylines
- The season series between these teams is even at 1-1. Minnesota won 2-0 on November 9 and Calgary won 4-1 on December 4, setting up this decider for the season series on Thursday.
- Form guide: Minnesota is 3-1-1 across its last 5 games, including a 4-3 OT loss to Florida and an OT win over Detroit. Three straight games for the Wild have gone to overtime or a shootout. Calgary is 1-2-2 in its last 5 games and just fell 4-3 in OT to Anaheim despite leading twice in that contest. The Flames have dropped four straight games going into this contest.
- Injuries to monitor: Minnesota’s blue line remains thin with Jonas Brodin out multiple weeks and Zach Bogosian also out. Calgary lists Blake Coleman on injured reserve.
Goaltending
- Likely starters: Dustin Wolf for Calgary and Jesper Wallstedt for Minnesota are expected to start on Thursday for their respective teams.
- Recent logs: Wolf stopped 17 of 21 shots in the OT loss to Anaheim. He has a 3.03 GAA on the season. Wallstedt has had a better year with a 2.71 GAA and a .914 save percentage.
Key skaters
- Minnesota: Kirill Kaprizov has had multi-point efforts pile up lately and sits at 64 points to lead the Wild. Kaprizov also leads the team with 28 goals.
- Calgary: Nazem Kadri paces the team with 35 points, while Matt Coronato is Calgary’s leader in goals with 14.
- Special teams gap: The Wild power play conversion rate is 24% and is superior to a Flames power play that has converted at 15.8% for the season.
Betting Trends & H2H
- The home team is 2-0 in games between these teams so far this season.
- Calgary is 8-16-2 on the road so far this year.
- Minnesota is 15-6-7 in their home games during the 2025-26 season.
Flames vs Wild Model Projection
Final Thoughts
