Blues vs Flames Odds Preview: St. Louis Eyeing Upset in Cowtown
Blues Have Been Profitable as a Road Underdog
NHL Odds Favor Calgary Despite Struggles
The Calgary Flames have lost four straight games and six of their last seven against St. Louis. And yet, the NHL odds lean strongly on them per the Blues vs Flames odds. The Blues have been terrible thus far and their goaltenders look to be the worst the NHL has to offer! But Calgary is not that much better although it is 10-5-2 at home and could feel the benefits of “home ice advantage”.
Game Information
St. Louis Blues (13-15-1) vs Calgary Flames (13-11-6)
Date, time (TV):
Location: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary
St. Louis Blues Streaky, Have Been Frigid Lately
Either St. Louis is unbeatable or it can’t win. It’s been more of the latter lately as St. Louis has just one regulation win in its last 11 games (3-7-1). A big portion of the blame can be put on goaltending as the Blues have allowed five or more goals in all but two of these games.
But it’s not all blue here. The Blues, despite their struggles, are still a profitable road team. Thanks to consistently being lined as an underdog, St. Louis is in the green (+$141) in its road games (7-8-0). This team did upset the Islanders along with Vegas and Colorado, before their NHL injuries, on consecutive nights. So as a +170 dog heading to Calgary, St. Louis has plenty of bites.
To add to that point, Jordan Binnington is coming off his 100th career victory in a shutout over Nashville. It came with plenty of drama as Blues forward Brayden Schenn, who netted the game-winner, had to scramble to get a new stick.
“Going to the bench, getting a new stick, getting back in the play and scoring the game-winner – it’s a good ending,” Blues forward Jordan Kyrou said. “He was driving the net there and luckily enough, it bounced right on his stick.”
Wins like that are why the Blues have persisted as a team despite their losses. Don’t forget that this is mostly the same team that went from starting 7-9-3 to winning the Stanley Cup back in 2018-19. Craig Berube has not lost his voice and the Blues are battling. Now they’ll need to string together consecutive wins even if the Blues vs Flames odds are against them.
Calgary Flames Better Than Their Record But…
Calgary struggles to win close games. This NHL team is laboring and it would help if the Flames could just be on the right side of one-goal games. The Flames have lost 13 of the 20 games (7-5-6) that were decided by a goal. This includes consecutive losses in overtime/shootout heading to this game. Calgary has won just two of the eight games that went past regulation time.
“You’ve just got to keep your chin up,” Flames forward Nazem Kadri said in regard to Calgary’s four-game skid. “It’s a long season and getting down on yourself or thinking you’re better than you are is, both sides of the spectrum can be dangerous. With some experience you learn that, and I think we’ve got the right attitude in here.”
As the Blues vs Flames odds suggest, the sportsbook has not lost faith in Calgary. Hence, the Flames are constantly favored as far as NHL betting picks are concerned. But on that note, it can be hard to find value on this team as it consistently lets its backers down.
Goaltender Jacob Markstrom, a runner-up for the Vezina Trophy last season, has started to play better: a 91.9 save percentage in his last five starts. However, Calgary lost all of these games (the last two in a shootout).
But as Kadri said, folks can’t be too down on Calgary. Daryl Sutter has this team pushing on the ice. The Flames are still one of the better 5-on-5 teams. They still have one of the best penalty-killing units (fifth in the NHL) and are consistently outshooting teams. On paper, Calgary is alright. But it will have to start producing wins as that is what matters in the end.
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