Welcome to an Amazon Prime Monday Night Hockey edition of NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey as the Calgary Flames are in town to take on the Ottawa Senators. Tonight’s game is a tale of two teams headed in opposite directions. Calgary is winners of four straight, while Ottawa is losers of five in a row. Will these trends continue or will Ottawa be able to flip the switch at home? So, as we get into it, we will send out the reminder. Be sure to check out all our coverage as we look at key matchups and provide detailed analysis on all the games throughout the 2024-25 campaign.
NHL Predictions
Calgary Flames at Ottawa Senators, from Canadian Tire Centre
Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: Amazon Prime Monday Night Hockey
The Ottawa Senators Searching for some Positives
Some line tinkering by head coach Travis Green wasn’t enough to get it done Saturday versus the Vancouver Canucks. The Sens came back but in the end, it was too little, too late. It will be interesting to see what tricks coach Green has up his sleeve for the Flames.
The @NHLFlames take a four-game winning streak into Ottawa, where @Senators forward Tim Stützle owns an eight-game home point streak of his own.
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— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 25, 2024
Regardless of the line changes, one player who continues to hum along is young star Tim Stutzle. Through 20 games, Stutzle leads the team in assists (15) and points (24). Along with Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk, the trio are all a point-per-game or better and power the Sens offence.
However, the team is in disarray, evidenced with the roster changes. Artem Zub has a fractured foot, so the Sens management have made it known they’re in pursuit of a defenceman. Furthermore, Zack MacEwen cleared waivers and fellow Zack, as in Zack Ostapchuk has been recalled from Belleville. Cole Reinhardt was also called up so the exact lineup is a bit unclear.
One thing confirmed is that Anton Forsberg gets the call between the pipes. Sens are trying to spice things up, hopefully they end up with two points in the end tonight.
Vancouver Looks to Stay Above the Curve
It’s hard to imagine the Flames are where they are right now. They traded Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Jacob Markstrom, and went from cap ceiling to basement dwellers over the past year or so. And somehow, someway, they might have actually gotten better.
Yes, on paper they aren’t very strong. However, if you check the NHL’s Pacific Division standings you’ll find their 12-6-3 record has them in second place. Their offence is not fancy, with a pair of defencemen, one-two in team scoring. Rasmus Andersson (13) and MacKenzie Weegar (12) take the honours for that distinction. It is also interesting to note, that although they are not scoring a lot, they are consistent and durable. Each of the club’s top-seven scorers have played in all 21 games. The Alberta work ethic appears to be strong in Cow Town.
Along with the team, one of their players is taking the NHL by storm. Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf is a big part of his club’s success. Expect him to put his wonderful record on the line tonight. He’s currently 8-2-1 with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.
NHL Predictions: Canucks and Senators
Based on our analysis, Ottawa powered by their captain right the ship for one game and emerge victorious.
Prediction: Ottawa wins in regulation, 5-1.
According to Fanduel, if we want to look at adding some friendly wagers on the outcomes, check these out. Take Ottawa to cover the spread at -1.5 paying +154, also, having either Tkachuk or Batherson score pays +110. Stutzle to record a point is -215. Those seem like good value picks assuming an Ottawa victory.
Main Photo: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
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