Calgary vs Minnesota: The Flames to make up for last year's defeat

Minnesota lost to Calgary in their last two head-to-head meetings. Will Dean Evason's players be able to handle such an uncomfortable opponent now? Our prediction: the Flames will be closer to success again!

Calgary is having a very strong regular season, especially compared to what they showed last season before Darryl Sutter was appointed head coach. Since the beginning of the current regular season, the Canadian team began to show decent results, and by February they made a fantastic run with ten wins in a row. These guys would seem unstoppable, but the day before they lost to Vancouver 1-7. Fortunately, the defeat didn't put them in a too bad position, as they remain in third place in the Western Conference standings, but are already 14 points behind the leader.

Minnesota is another team that looks good in the current regular season. Dean Evason's players continue to make progress, transforming from a lowly team with no Cup ambitions into a real playoff contender. There's no question that the Wild will make the decisive part of the season; the only question is where they'll end up. They've been in a bit of a slump lately, as they've only managed to pick up two points in their previous five meetings, taking a 7-3 lead over Edmonton, and they've lost their remaining four games by a combined score of 9-19. Such a bad stretch dropped Minnesota to fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

The teams have played 95 face-offs in the NHL regular season. The Flames have had 51 wins, while the Wild have been stronger in 40 games, and the other four games ended in a draw. The goal difference, meanwhile, is 221-217 in favor of the Saint Paul team. The last time the rivals met was in the 2019/20 season, when the players of Minnesota celebrated the victory (3-0) once, and two more times it was the Calgary players that were stronger, 5-4 and 2-1.

Calgary and Minnesota approach the encounter on neighboring lines in the Western Conference standings, but the rivals are in different states. While the Flames have won 11 of their last 12 games, the Wild have only suffered one win in their previous five meetings. Moreover, the day before the Red and Yellows got a serious slap from Vancouver, losing 1-7, which will allow them to come down to earth. As a result, we should bet on Calgary's win for about 2.05.

The confrontation between Calgary and Minnesota lately has been characterized by very modest scoring activity. In the previous eight head-to-head encounters, the opponents combined for only 31 goals (3.88 average per game), which itself is very modest by NHL standards; in addition, only twice in that span has the total over (25%) been surpassed. Now the teams are located on the neighboring lines in the standings of the West, so the face-off will also involve a battle for places, and the optimal option to bet on seems to be Total Under (5.5) for 2.20.

Andrew Mangiapane is a forward who is having the best season of his career. His performance at the last World Championship with Team Canada has probably allowed him to believe in his own strength, as he was the main star of the Maple Leafs at the tournament in Riga. In the current regular season the 25-year-old hockey player has already set a personal record in scoring with 35 points (26 goals + 9 assists) while playing only 50 games. In this situation, it is worth betting on his Total Over (0.5) with odds of about 2.60.