Welcome to NHL Predictions! Each day, Last Word On Hockey will break down every game and give our NHL predictions for each game. In today’s NHL predictions, we’ll cover the four games happening on December 22nd. This will include a featured game that should be must-watch hockey. The featured game today is the Calgary Flames vs Dallas Stars.
NHL Predictions
Anaheim Ducks vs New York Rangers
Head-to-Head: Ducks 1 – 0 Rangers
Sunday starts with a fairly meager game. While both the Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers have redeeming qualities, they’ve fallen out of favor as the season has strung along. This is particularly true with Anaheim. After an impressive 9-6-0 start to the year, the Ducks fell apart in November. They set a 3-6-4 record during November, with goaltender John Gibson seemingly being their only bright spot. They have rebounded a bit in December, on the surface, with a 4-5-0 record. Yet, the record has come through a bit of luck. Three of the four wins have been decided through a shootout and the fourth was a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, the last-place team in the Western Conference and 29th in the league overall. So while their fortunes are rebounding a little, it seems thin-veiled.
The Rangers started the season with a truly atrocious October. During the opening month, they set a bleak 4-5-1 record and a 3.50 goals-against-average. Since then, they’ve proved to be on the brighter side of things more often than not. Between November and December, they have a 12-9-3 record. While this doesn’t hold a candle to the league’s top teams, it does place New York ahead of teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens in terms of point percentage during that span.
There is seemingly still more to be desired from the Rangers as well. In that span, they’ve allowed the 10th-most goals in the league. This is a bleak stat but proves the team’s ability to find wins, even in the face of high goals-against. If the Rangers can start quieting opposing offences, they could surely shoot up the standings before the Trade Deadline. Against a measly Anaheim Ducks team that’s had trouble scoring, the Rangers should be able to bolster their already strong record and put an end to a recent three-game losing streak.
Prediction: Rangers win 4-2.
Arizona Coyotes vs Detroit Red Wings
Head-to-Head: Coyotes 0 – 0 Red Wings
There is very little to say about this matchup. The Detroit Red Wings have continued their terrible skid this season. They capped off their November with a 10-game losing streak and haven’t been able to change much since. In December, they have a 2-6-0 record, with three of those losses being apart of the aforementioned losing streak. The Toronto Maple Leafs defiantly shut down Detroit on Saturday, winning by a score of 4-1. It was a dramatic, physical game that beat Detroit into submission.
In the game, the Red Wings also lost Anthony Mantha: their best player. Mantha was slew-footed by Leafs defenceman Jake Muzzin and, after hitting his head on the ice, was very slow to get up. It was a scary sight and while no injury news has been unveiled, Mantha will almost certainly miss Sunday’s matchup.
With the absence of Mantha, there is very little holding the Arizona Coyotes back from steamrolling Detroit. The Coyotes boast one of the best goalie tandems in the league, although Darcy Kuemper has recently fallen to injury. Still, the team’s expected starter on Sunday, Antti Raanta, has played very well this year. He boasts a .919 save percentage and 2.72 goals-against-average, placing him among the best backup goalies in the league. With Taylor Hall sparking the Coyotes offence since his addition, the team should be firing on all cylinders Sunday.
Prediction: Coyotes win 5-1.
Vegas Golden Knights vs San Jose Sharks
Head-to-Head: Golden Knights 2 – 1 Sharks
The Vegas Golden Knights have returned to their regular form this December. They have a 6-2-2 record through the month, a dramatic improvement from the 13-11-4 record they set prior to December. Through the month, Vegas ranks sixth in goals-for and a modest 17th in goals-against. This strong streak has helped propel Vegas to the top of the Pacific Divison, tied with the Edmonton Oilers and Coyotes with 44 points.
The rival San Jose Sharks have taken a completely opposite course. They have only won one game in December, tallying an abysmal 1-6-1 record through the month. The terrible play has dropped the Sharks to the bottom of the Western Conference. They’re currently tied with the Kings for last place, although San Jose has one game in hand. Nonetheless, there seems to be no sight of playoffs this year. Instead, the Sharks will likely spend the rest of their season scrambling to figure out how to fix their woes, to avoid a complete rebuild before the 2020-21 season.
Luckily, this identity crisis in San Jose makes the perfect opportunity for Vegas to steal a win. With Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone heating up in recent games, and the Golden Knights as a whole learning how to win games once again, there should be absolutely nothing holding them back from an easy win.
Prediction: Golden Knights win 4-2.
Calgary Flames vs Dallas Stars
Head-to-Head: Flames 1 – 1 Stars
The featured matchup of today’s NHL Predictions sees two red-hot teams match up. The Dallas Stars have placed themselves among the best in the league in recent months. Since November, the Stars have gone 15-11-3. This ties them for the third-most wins in this span, although they are also tied for the fewest games played among anyone in the top-10. Thanks to tremendous goaltending from Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin, the Stars have also allowed the fewest goals-against in the last two months. They are truly a dominant team, thanks in large part to some of the best goaltending in the NHL.
Up until a month ago, this game would’ve been a very easy prediction. The Flames looked completely out of sync to start the year and skidded to an uneventful 10-12-3 record as a result. Then, on November 23, they flipped the switch. The Flames won a hard-fought game against the Philadelphia Flyers that night, topping them in a shootout, and then proceeded to go on an absolute tear. While their next game was an overtime loss, the Flames managed a seven-game win streak to end their November and start their December. During this streak they had a dramatic 28-to-17 goal differential, seemingly reviving their potent offence.
While the Flames are stuttering once again, currently on a three-game losing streak, their strength has been emphasized. They’re no longer easy pickings for Dallas. Sunday’s matchup will feature a potent Flames offence, and weak defence, squaring off against a completely opposite Stars team. While a prediction is hard to conceive, there simply seems to be no way to top the red-hot Stars goaltending. With the Flames tallying a moot four-to-12 goal differential in their recent losing streak, Dallas could easily find a way to leave with a victory in hand.
Prediction: Stars win 4-3.
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