Welcome back to another day of NHL Predictions. Each day, we will take a look at the games that are happening and give our predictions for each one. This is the third set of games for March 6th. Make sure to also check out the first set and second set. As well, we also offer a featured game of the day, which is a game that we think is must-watch TV. Today’s featured game is the Calgary Flames vs Edmonton Oilers.
NHL Predictions Including Calgary Flames vs Edmonton Oilers
St. Louis Blues vs Los Angeles Kings
Head-to-Head: Blues 2 – 3 Kings
The St. Louis Blues managed to pull a win out of Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. But it was closer than it should’ve been. Then again, that can be said about every meeting between the two teams this season. The Kings turn things up to 11 when they face the Blues. And it’s led them to a winning-record over St. Louis. But the injury-riddled Blues looked rejuvenated on Friday. Mike Hoffman and David Perron came to live, leading the Blues to a dominant late-game. The Blues power-play has also been terrific as of late, scoring on five of their last eight opportunities, through the last four games.
That’s an impressive record, especially for a team like St. Louis, who always seem damaged on special teams. This all mounts in some attractive forward-momentum for the Blues. While the Kings will put up a great fight, the Blues might finally be hitting their stride.
Prediction: Blues win 4-3.
Vegas Golden Knights vs San Jose Sharks
Head-to-Head: Golden Knights 1 – 0 Sharks
The Vegas Golden Knights haven’t changed one bit this season. The team seems to constantly find a way to absolutely dominate the NHL. They set a record of 8-1-1 through the first 10 games of their season and have since switched onto cruise control. This is largely thanks to one of the best defensive performances in the NHL. Vegas has allowed fewer goals than any team in the league this year, with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury really looking like the Hall-of-Famer that some make him out to be.
Fleury ranks second in the entire league in GSAx. That’s to say that Fleury has been the second-best goalie in the entire league, behind only Andrei Vasilevskiy. That’s great news for Saturday night’s game, which looks to be a complete blowout. San Jose is simply outclassed when facing Vegas. While the Sharks have managed some great performances recently, they were largely on the back of a crumbling opposing-defence. That won’t be possible against the brick-wall Golden Knights.
Prediction: Golden Knights win 5-0.
Calgary Flames vs Edmonton Oilers
Head-to-Head: Flames 1 – 2 Oilers
It’s the Battle of Alberta. This meeting has become one of the absolute greatest in the NHL, with the rivalry between Matthew Tkachuk and Zack Kassian helping make it even better.
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And going into it, there is a very, very clear headline headed into this featured game. The Calgary Flames have replaced their head coach, firing Geoff Ward and hiring Darryl Sutter. It’s a fun reunion for the Flames and Sutter, who ended things on… iffy terms, to say the least. But fans are hesitantly-optimistic about Sutter’s deployment behind the bench. He has committed to building a faster, more skill-based Flames team, which is exactly what players like Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan need to thrive.
It’s great news. Or, well, better news than the Flames have had in a bit. The 2020-21 season has marked another year of mediocrity for Calgary, who currently has a perfect .500 point-percentage, ranking them 5th in their division and 19th in the league. A rebranding could help this team — who has clear talent and ability — climb their way into a playoff spot.
But they’re starting this journey in the face of interesting opposition. The Edmonton Oilers are an incredible team this year… at least, when they want to be. The Oilers have steamrolled some teams, even beating Calgary 7-1 in their most recent meeting. But they’ve also had hiccups that saw them really struggle. It’s been an Oilers-esque year. But they’re not hopeless. They rank 4th in their division and 17th in the NHL in point-percentage. And Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are again looking like true Hart Trophy-candidates.
The Oilers have allowed the fifth-most goals in the league but they’ve also scored the third-most. It’s an interesting dynamic that will lend itself to a very exciting Saturday game. The Flames will be raw under their new coach’s systems. But Edmonton has seemed to be raw throughout most of the year anyways. So the playing field could end up being very even. Still, it’s impossible to bet against McDavid and Draisaitl, who have proven time-and-time-again that they’re capable of stealing away games.
Prediction: Oilers win 6-5.
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