In their first head-to-head matchup of the regular season, the Calgary Flames and the New York Rangers take the ice at Madison Square Garden in a cross-continent showdown. Sportsnet ONE will air the action, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 21.
Calgary Flames vs. New York Rangers Odds
Calgary enters the matchup as the favorite with a -135 moneyline. The line for New York sits at +115 and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Calgary is 4-3 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.1 units this season. That winning percentage, the third-best in the Pacific Division so far this season, is fairly close to the 37-45 record the team managed during the 2017-18 season campaign. Through seven regular season outings, Five of its games have gone over the total, while two have gone under. This 2018-19 Flames team is 2-2 SU on the road.
The Flames have scored on 19.4 percent of their power play opportunities thus far. That’s a noticeable improvement from last year, when they were ranked 28th in the NHL by converting on 16.0 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has weakened a bit since last year, however, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 81.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked seventh overall last year) to 81.5 percent this year.
The Flames, as a collective unit, have been penalized 3.9 times per game during the 2018-19 season. Last year, that figure was the second-highest mark in the league at 4.4 penalties per game. After serving an average of 11.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for just 8.7 minutes per outing this year.
Boasting a .885 save percentage and 24.3 saves per game, Mike Smith (3-3) has been the best option in goal for Calgary this year. If Calgary decides to rest him, however, head coach Bill Peters may roll with David Rittich (1-1 record, .941 save percentage, 1.54 goals against average).
Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Flames. Tkachuk (10 points) is up to three goals and seven assists this season while Gaudreau has three goals and seven assists to his credit through the early stages of the regular season.
New York is 2-5 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through seven regular season matches, five of its games have gone under the total, while two have gone over and none have pushed. The team is 2-2 SU at home thus far.
The Rangers have scored on 18.2 percent of their extra-man advantages this year after converting on 21.2 percent (ranked 12th in league) last season. They have killed off a remarkable 69.6 percent of all penalties, a few points lower than the 81.4 percent they posted a year ago (when they were ranked eighth in the NHL).
Rangers skaters have been sent to the penalty box 4.6 times per game this season, a number that has risen some from the 3.5 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.0 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 10.0 minutes per contest this year.
Henrik Lundqvist has stopped 31.2 shots per game as the primary option in goal for the Rangers. Lundqvist has two wins, four losses, and one OT loss and has registered a .930 save percentage and 2.31 goals against average this season.
The Broadway Blueshirts offense will be led by Chris Kreider (four goals, two assists).
Calgary Flames at New York Rangers Free Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Rangers, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Notes
New York has yet to win a game by two or more goals this season.
The Rangers are 1-3 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Flames are 0-2 SU when they spend more time in the box than the opposition.
After going 3-5 in games decided by a shootout last year, the Rangers are off to a 1-0 start in shootouts this season. Calgary went 2-5 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
The total has gone under in three of New York’s last five outings.
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