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 late-game NHL predictions, we’ll cover four of the eight games happening on February 23rd. Each piece will include a featured game that should be must-watch hockey. The featured game for this article is the matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild.
NHL Predictions
Calgary Flames vs Detroit Red Wings
Head-to-Head: Flames 0 – 0 Wings
The Calgary Flames back-and-forth season will not stop. They seemingly can’t find their groove, boasting next to no consistency all season long. It seems they either win-big or lose-big, with little in between. Calgary has gone 4-3-0 in their last seven, scoring six goals in all four wins. Yet, despite such frequent high-scoring-affairs, they haven’t been able to break past just-over-.500. In fact, on the year, Calgary has gone 31-25-6; or perfectly .500 (31 wins, 31 losses). For a roster with the likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Mark Giordano, to name a few, this performance is fairly surprising.
Luckily, Sunday should give Calgary a golden opportunity to get back into the win column. They’ll face the league-worst Detroit Red Wings, who have next-to-no positives going for them right now. In their last 18 games, the Wings have gone 3-14-1, setting a per-game-average goal-differential of 1.61 goals-for to 3.66 goals-against. It’s been a comical season for Detroit; one that isn’t going to get any better on Sunday.
Prediction: Flames win 6-0.
Vegas Golden Knights vs Anaheim Ducks
Head-to-Head: Golden Knights 2 – 1 Ducks
The Twitter community that rallies behind the Vegas Golden Knights breathed a very large, and outspoken, sign of relief on Saturday night. The Knights have finally found success. They finally looked like the team they should, proven by a five-game win streak during their recent homestand. It’s been incredibly relieving for Vegas fans who have dealt with the team’s confusing struggles all season long. Now, it seems there’s no stopping Vegas. Not only are they on a five-game win streak, but they’ve also outscored opponents 20 to 13 in that span. That’s a crazy average of four-goals-for each game, compared to only 2.6 goals-against. While, sure, the small sample size surely affects these outrageous averages, they still go to show Vegas’ recent boom.
Vegas will surely extend this win streak to six games on Sunday, against an Anaheim Ducks team that’s gone into ‘selling-mode’. Massively underrated goal-scorer Ondrej Kase was dealt to the Boston Bruins earlier last week, in return for a first-round pick, prospect, and convenient Bruins cap-dump David Backes. The move clearly showed Anaheim had given up on this season and rightfully so. They’ve once again struggled, setting a 24-30-7 record thus far. This places them second-to-last in the Western Conference. It’s been a bleak showing, only worsened by the three-game losing streak the team is currently on. Against a Vegas team that is finally playing good hockey, the Ducks don’t stand a chance.
Prediction: Golden Knights win 5-3.
Edmonton Oilers vs Los Angeles Kings
Head-to-Head: Oilers 2 – 1 Kings
A similar story to the Knights/Ducks game seems to be present here. The Edmonton Oilers have been hounded with injuries, with Connor McDavid, Joakim Nygard, and Oscar Klefbom all being on injured reserve, and James Neal and Kris Russell both missing time as well. Still, despite injuries game-after-game, the Oilers are winning games. They’ve gone 4-2-1 in their last seven, just narrowly outscoring opponents 21 to 19. While fans would certainly have hoped for a bit more late-season success from such a skilled lineup, the Oilers are at least keeping their heads above water.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings are falling more-and-more into the abyss. They’re dead-last in the West, by five whole points. Much like Anaheim, this has prompted a fire-sale. So far, Kings veterans Tyler Toffoli and Alec Martinez have both been dealt. Recent NHL rumours note that other vets, like Jeff Carter, could be quick to join them. Much like a bad breakup, this is simply the final stage of the Kings rebuild, where they get rid of any trace of the ‘good-ol’-days’. This season doesn’t matter much to L.A., they’re instead doing all they can to assure a solid future. Sunday’s game could surprise, as it’s hard to bet on such an injury-riddled team like Edmonton, but all signs point to a very easy Oilers win.
Prediction: Oilers win 3-0.
St. Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild
Head-to-Head: Blues 2 – 0 Wild
Following the theme of this article, the Blues are finally heating up too. They hit a massive divet only a month ago, where they went 2-7-3. It was embarrassing for the reigning Stanley Cup champs and had many fans in a stage of panic; but, in true Blues fashion, the lineup kept their cool, continued to push forward, and has been rewarded with a three-game win streak where they have truly looked like the Stanley Cup-calibre team that they are. During this three-game streak, they’ve outscored their opponents nine to one and many would argue that that one goal was a fluke, coming late in their most recent game against the Dallas Stars; a game that St. Louis emphatically led for its entirety.
Minnesota isn’t struggling at all either, though. They’ve gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, although their goal differential of 28 to 21 gives a glimpse into how tight these victories have come. Still, the team is performing at a level that fans should be excited to see. They seem to be only a few tweaks away from serious playoff contention, and this comes after their dealing of Jason Zucker to the Pittsburgh Penguins, in exchange for a first-round pick, high-end prospect and Alex Galchenyuk. They have the moxie to make Sunday’s game close but the Blues should come away with the win. They’ve simply been too good recently, looking revived after a 12-game slump.
Prediction: Blues win 4-3.
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