NHL Predictions: January 21st, Pittsburgh Penguins at Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames and the Pittsburgh Penguins face-off in a rematch. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here with Last Word On Hockey! Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for games around the NHL. In tonight’s matchup, Pittsburgh and Calgary battle for the second time in a couple of weeks. 

NHL Predictions: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Calgary Flames

Head-to-Head: Flames 1-0 Penguins

Time: 9:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)

How to Watch: Sportsnet+, TVAS+, SN1, SNW, SN-PIT, ESPN+, NHL Centre Ice

Location: Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta

Penguins Story

Pittsburgh comes into this game off a 6-3 win over the Seattle Kraken. With the victory, the Penguins have points in four straight games and are 6-2-2 in their last 10. With a total record on the season of 23-14-11, Pittsburgh sits third in the Metropolitan Division, just two points behind the New York Islanders. As the Penguins also have a game in hand and the regulation tiebreaker, the second spot in the Metro is wide open and up for grabs. One of the biggest reasons for the Penguins’ success has been their sustained defensive pressure. They’re one of the best teams defensively in the NHL since the holiday break. Even against the Kraken, the Penguins were able to shut things down until they were able to gain a sizeable lead before the Kraken began putting on some more offence. Playing against the same Calgary team they suffered a 2-1 loss to just weeks ago, the Penguins will be looking to keep the same defensive system while pouring on the offence.

A notable improvement in the Penguins’ offence has been the increase of depth scoring. At times when Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin have gone cold, other players on the team, both forwards and defencemen, have been able to step up and pitch in offence. The game against Seattle alone saw goals from defenceman Parker Wotherspoon and Brett Kulak, plus forwards lower in the lineup like Justin Brazeau and a pair from Connor Dewar. Sustained depth scoring will be a large key to victory for the Penguins in this game. 

Heading into the first half of a back-to-back, expect Arturs Silovs to get the start as Stuart Skinner started at the Penguins’ last game. Silovs is 8-6-8 with an .892 save percentage this season. This is a great time for our disclaimer, to please check social media before locking in your daily fantasy lineups.

Flames Story

The Flames come into this game off a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils in overtime. With the loss, Calgary is 4-5-1 in their last 10. Their total record of 21-23-5 places them in the bottom five of the league. Goal scoring has been by far the biggest issue for the Flames. They rank in the bottom five in goals for in the league. Their defence, however, has been solid, tied for tenth in the NHL for goals against. A lot of this is also due to excellent performances from goaltender Dustin Wolf. Their power-play is anemic, the 14.9% unit ranking second last in the league. In what is seen as a rebuild year for the Flames, they’ve done well executing defensive systems and trying to insulate their star goaltender. Offence is the big issue with this Calgary team, something they’re looking to improve over the next couple of years. 

Calgary’s lone goal in the loss against the Devils belongs to centre Nazem Kadri. Scoring his ninth of the season, Kadri leads the Flames in scoring with 34 points in 49 games. Behind him, captain Mikael Backlund ranks second in team scoring with 12 goals and 31 points. The Flames suffered a big loss last week, as 10-goal, 30-point defenceman Rasmus Andersson was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights. Andersson was the team’s third-best point producer prior to the trade. Receiving defensive defenceman Zach Whitecloud back in addition to draft picks, the Flames will struggle even more to generate offence with the absence of Andersson. Watch for Connor Zary in this game. Scoring eight goals and 19 points in 47 games, Zary seems to do well against the Penguins whenever these teams meet. 

In net, expect star goaltender Dustin Wolf to get the start. Wolf is 15-19-2 with a .900 save percentage this season. His record and save percentage can be deceiving, however, as it’s been the team in front of him that’s let him down more often than him letting the team down. 

NHL Prediction

The Penguins are on the four game point streak and are playing a structured brand of hockey. As good as the Flames have been at stifling the offence from Pittsburgh, the Penguins have the edge in this game, especially due to the momentum they carry entering the contest. Expect a Penguins win this one. 

NHL Prediction: Penguins win 3-1

Prop Bet of the Night

Expect another low-scoring game between these two teams such as they had a couple of weeks ago. As such, a popular profit of goals under five with odds of +220 is a good bet. 

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