Can the Calgary Flames Pull Off Another Road Upset?
The Flames vs Devils Odds Has Host New Jersey Favored to Extinguish the Flames
Sharangovich Returns To New Jersey as a Visiting Player
Both the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils came out of the NHL All-Star break with wins over Stanley Cup contenders. Can they keep it up when they get together on Thursday? The Flames vs Devils NHL odds has host New Jersey favored to win its second straight game.
New Jersey is 11-11-2 at home this season while Calgary has an 11-11-4 road record.
New Jersey went on the road and won the first meeting of the season between the teams. The Devils are priced at -140 to win this matchup with Calgary’s odds coming in at +120.
When looking at the NHL playoff odds, New Jersey is 14th at +2500 in the odds of winning the Stanley Cup title. Calgary is well back at +10000 in the championship odds.
Keep on reading for more on the matchup between the Flames and the Devils.
Flames vs Devils 
Day/Time:
Records: Calgary 23-22-5/New Jersey 25-20-3
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
Streaming: Watch Live Sports
Flames Getting Defensive
When Calgary shut out Chicago in the final game before the NHL All-Star game, it barely raised an eyebrow since the Blackhawks are among the worst teams in the NHL.
It was a different story when the Flames went into Boston and limited the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins to 22 shots on goal and conceded only one power-play goal in the 4-1 win.
Calgary went the unconventional route of dressing 13 forwards and just five defensemen as Noah Hanifin played more than 25 minutes and Rasmus Andersson had more than 23 minutes of ice time.
Andrei Kuzmenko scored in his debut for the Flames.
The total went over in four of Calgary’s last six games against Eastern Conference teams. That is something to consider when it comes to the Flames vs Devils NHL odds.
Will Toffoli Hit the Ice?
These two teams are connected thanks to the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli from Calgary to New Jersey in exchange for Yegor Sharangovich and a draft pick.
Toffoli leads New Jersey with 21 goals this hockey season.
However, he is questionable for this game. That could play a role in the Flames vs Devils odds.
That is not good news for a New Jersey team already missing forward Jack Hughes as well as defensemen Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Brendan Smith. Hughes would be among the NHL scoring leaders had he not missed 16 games this season.
Sharangovich has 20 goals for the Flames so the trade has worked out for both NHL teams. This will mark the first time Sharangovich plays at the Prudential Center as a member of the visiting team.
Toffoli did not record a point when the teams met earlier this season but Sharangovich did score in the game.
The total has gone over in four of New Jersey’s last five games.
Last Meeting
Nico Hischier scored twice as the Devils overcame an early goal from Sharangovich to top the Flames 4-2 to beat the Flames for the third time in a row.
The game finished under the 6.5-goal total as New Jersey failed to score on two power plays and Calgary did not have a power-play opportunity.
Flames vs Devils Betting Preview
A quick peek at the NHL standings shows that New Jersey is five games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference while Calgary is three points out of a Western Conference playoff spot so this is a key game for both teams.
After losing three straight one-goal games at home to the Flames, New Jersey won the last home game 3-2.
Since the start of December, New Jersey has been outscored 51-41 in 13 home games. The number could be a lot worse had the Devils not killed off 91% of the opposing team’s power plays during that stretch.
New Jersey is 21-12-2 as the favorite this season compared to an 11-13-3 mark for Calgary as the underdog.
New Jersey has covered in only three of its 24 home games this season. However, 16 of those games did finish over the total.
Six of the last nine games that Calgary played against Metropolitan Division teams went under the total. The total is set at 6.5 for this NHL matchup.
The total went over in five of New Jersey’s six games against Western Conference teams after a 5-3 win over Colorado.
Five straight games between the Flames and Devils finished over the total before a total of 11 games were scored in the last two matchups. Don’t be surprised to see plenty of goals in this matchup and the final meeting of the season between Calgary and New York going over the total.
For NHL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
