The Calgary Flames were blanked last night 1-0 by the Sabres and now travel to Vancouver to take on a Canucks team that embarrassed them 7-1 a month ago.
The waiting Vancouver Canucks are slight +110 favorites and are just three points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand.
Can the Canucks continue to push for the bottom spots in the Western Conference? Is Calgary’s offense ready to explode despite getting shut out twice over its last three games?
Find out in our free NHL picks and predictions for Flames vs. Canucks.
Flames vs Canucks odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
Calgary opened up ats -140 favorites late Friday night, but the market is favoring the home side as the Flames have moved to -130 with a total of 6 that’s leaning to the Over. In their February 24 meeting, the Flames closed as -155 road favorites with a total of 5.5 in the 7-1 Vancouver victory.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Flames vs Canucks predictions
Predictions made on 3/19/2022 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Flames vs Canucks game info
• Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
• Date: Saturday, March 19, 2022
• Puck drop: 10:00 p.m. ET
• TV: CBC, Sportsnet
Flames vs Canucks betting preview
Key injuries
Flames: None.
Canucks: Nils Hoglander F (Questionable).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Flames vs Canucks head-to-head record since 2021
Flames: 6-4 SU, 29 goals for.
Canucks: 4-6 SU, 31 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 7-1-2 in Flames’ last 10 games as a road favorite. Find more NHL betting trends for Flames vs. Canucks.
Flames vs Canucks picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
It might have been a quiet flight for the Flames last night after getting blanked by Buffalo, 1-0, at home. It marks the second time in three games the Flames have been shut out, but last night could have been a look-ahead spot for the Flames who will be seeking to avenge their blowout loss in Vancouver last month.
That game featured three Vancouver power-play goals which came on the back of 10 Calgary minor penalties. The Canucks, on the other hand, had just one minor penalty called against them which is about as lopsided as it gets. Things should be a little more even tonight and you can almost guarantee Darryl Sutter will have his team ready to go.
The Flames are padding their lead in the Pacific Division thanks to a two-month stretch of hockey that saw them go 19-5-2, tying them with the Avs for the best point percentage. They scored more goals than any other team over that stretch and had a plus-41 goal differential over those 26 games.
The power play is in the Top 10 while the penalty kill is a Top-4 unit. This game was likely circled on the calendar following the 7-1 loss, so we wouldn’t read too much into last night’s defeat.
Dan Vladar should likely get the call tonight with Jacob Markstrom playing last night. Vladar allowed four goals versus the Canucks but didn’t start that game or get much help when he came in relief.
Vladar held the Avalanche to two goals on 31 shots in his last outing and has been tasked with some big games of late. Vladar is likely the reason this game is priced this way despite the back-to-back, but even his 2.90 GAA isn’t swaying us from an angry Calgary squad.
The Canucks are no slouch themselves and the +110 price is deserving. This is a team that is 7-5 SU over its last 12 games and has an offense that is scoring 4.00 goals per game over that time.
They've been one of the best offenses in hockey lately, but regression may have caught up to them as they were blanked by the Red Wings in their last game and scored just once versus the Bolts three games ago. We doubt they get as many power-play opportunities today as they did in the last meeting, either.
The Canucks have plenty of depth in their top-three lines but so do the Flames. Keeping the Tkachuck-Lindholm-Gaudreau line off the scoresheet is a tough ask.
Possible Vancouver starter, Thatcher Demko, has a 2.89 GAA over his last seven games and has had just one game off over his team’s last 14 games.
Bruce Boudreau has done a great job with the Canucks but Sutter knows how to get his team up and tonight’s game is a huge revenge spot. We’re taking the Flames on the ML.
Prediction: Flames moneyline (-130)
Over/Under analysis
With two teams coming off zero-goal performances, the Under would be a logical play here, but we’ve seen too much offense from both of these clubs over the last 30 days to think this will be another low-scoring match.
Vancouver has the No. 2 offense over the last 30 days with 4.00 GPG. Over those 12 games, the Canucks are 10-2 to the Over. They're seeing an average of 7.25 total goals per game since February 19 which is the fourth-highest total in the league. Betting Vancouver Unders has been a losing affair of late.
Calgary has also been profitable to the Over as it is 13-9-4 to the Over across the last 60 days. The Flames are doing a great job at scoring lately and now get to face the league’s worst penalty-killing team in Vancouver.
The Canucks rank dead last in PK% on the season and it hasn’t been much better over the last two-plus months. They’ll try and stop a Calgary PP that ranks in the Top 10 on the season and has eight PP goals over its last 10 games, despite not scoring with the man advantage for three straight games.
With the way the last meeting went, we wouldn’t be surprised if the refs tried to control the game and called plenty of penalties early.
Demko has been playing a ton of late and is 10-2 to the Over in his last 12 starts. Vladar has not played to the level of Markstrom this year and has struggled at times. He owns a .878 SV% since January 1 and is 7-2 to the Over in his last nine starts.
Both teams can roll multiple offensive lines, and the Canucks' PK is awful and both goalies have been playing to the Over all season. We like both teams to find their scoring touches again tonight.
Prediction: Over 6 (-120)
Best bet
Elias Lindholm had six shots in the last meeting and sits second on the team in shots on net over the last 12 games. He’s also tied for the team lead in goal with seven over that stretch. With the Flames coming off a goal-less performance, Sutter is likely telling this team to simply get pucks on net.
Heading into that Buffalo game, the Flames had been throwing a ton of rubber at the net with 129 shots over a three-game span. Lindholm has at least two shots in nine straight games, and with nobody really scoring on that line, Lindholm could take it upon himself to get things done.
He has the longest price of three top-line forwards, and we like him to get at least three shots in a game that should showcase plenty of offense.
Pick: Elias Lindholm Over 2.5 shots (-120)
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