{"id":460206,"date":"2025-01-07T12:15:19","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T17:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=460206"},"modified":"2025-01-07T12:15:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T17:15:19","slug":"nhl-predictions-jan-7-calgary-flames-vs-anaheim-ducks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/01\/07\/nhl-predictions-jan-7-calgary-flames-vs-anaheim-ducks\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Jan. 7 Calgary Flames vs. Anaheim Ducks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to NHL Predictions. Each day,\u00a0<\/span>Last Word on Hockey<\/span><\/em> takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play in. Today we\u2019re looking at the\u00a0<\/span>Calgary Flames<\/a> against the Anaheim Ducks<\/a><\/span>. Be sure to check out more\u00a0<\/span>NHL predictions<\/span>\u00a0every day there\u2019s hockey this 2024-25 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/span><\/h2>\n

Calgary Flames<\/span> (18-14-7) vs Anaheim Ducks (17-18-4)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Time:<\/span><\/strong> 10:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/span><\/p>\n

TV:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>ESPN+; Victory+; SNW<\/span><\/p>\n

2024 Season Series: Calgary won 3-1<\/h4>\n

Heading into the 2024-25 season both the Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks were on a similar trajectory. Both teams were rebuilding with young players and draft picks in an effort to get competitive again. Calgary has been a positive surprise to start the season and sit just one point out of the playoffs. Contrarily Anaheim has been right about where many people expected, not a lottery team, but not quite a playoff team. Anaheim currently sits 6 points out of a Wild Card spot. Both Calgary and Anaheim will continue to battle for wins while also focusing on player development for a competitive future. Let’s dive into some predictions for tonight’s matchup.<\/p>\n

Anaheim Falling Short Of Expectations<\/span><\/h4>\n

Anaheim has put together a talented young core of players. This season Anaheim was hoping to see these players take another step forward and push Anaheim towards playing meaningful hockey. Unfortunately, Anaheim has failed to take that step to this point. Trevor Zegras<\/a>, who came into the league with a lot of hype for his incredible offensive skill has taken a step back in recent seasons and has been in trade rumours for a year now. Mason McTavish,<\/a> the third overall pick in 2021, hasn’t had his breakout campaign yet although he is just 22 years old. Leo Carlsson<\/a> the second overall pick from 2023 has the potential to be a number one center but still needs more time. Cutter Gauthier<\/a> is having a decent rookie campaign after forcing his way out of Philadelphia and could be a big piece moving forward. Anaheim will need to get more from these young players in order to become a playoff team.<\/p>\n

Despite this season not going to plan thus far, Anaheim still has a lot of young talent and the future is bright. Fans may have to wait one more year, but with talented players all throughout the roster Anaheim is coming.<\/p>\n

Flames Starting To Fall Behind Wild Card Race<\/span><\/h4>\n

The Calgary Flames sit just one point out of the playoffs, but it feels like they are falling out of the race. Calgary has proven to be a competitive team to start this season. However, Calgary has some major flaws, and every game feels like a must-win. When comparing the Flames to the teams they are chasing for the playoffs it’s hard to picture them outlasting teams like Vancouver, Colorado, or Saint Louis. From a fan perspective, Calgary has been enjoying the best of both worlds to start the season. They’ve gotten good contributions from young players developing for the future, while also winning hockey and being competitive. With every loss and the recent downturn, it feels like Calgary’s success may start to turn in the other direction.<\/p>\n

If Calgary is going to find a way into the playoffs they are going to need their young players to continue their strong play and even step up more. Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf<\/a> has at times looked like a true number-one NHL goaltender. His play has been a major catalyst for the Flames success. Calgary has struggled to score all season. They’re getting good offensive contributions from veterans like Jonathan Huberdeau<\/a> and Nazem Kadri<\/a>, but not enough to win high-scoring games. Youngsters Connor Zary<\/a> and Matthew Coronato<\/a> have taken another step this season and both are big parts of this team, but their production will need to take another jump for the Flames to have a chance at the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Prediction<\/span><\/h3>\n

Calgary has struggled recently, losing three of their last four. During this time there goalscoring struggles have been front and centre, twice managing just one goal and getting shut out. Combine this little slump with Calgary’s struggles on the road and things don’t appear to be going in their favour.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Anaheim has won four of five including a recent 4-1 win over a contender in Tampa. Anaheim should come with plenty of energy at home and their young roster will get chances to score. Despite the current standings, the Ducks look to be the favourite in this matchup.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Ducks Win 4-2<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets of The Night<\/span><\/h3>\n

We wrap NHL predictions up with some prop bets of the night. The sportsbooks appear to be favouring Calgary at -1.5. With the recent play it’s worth looking at taking Anaheim as the underdog.<\/p>\n

Matthew Coronato<\/a> has been playing his best hockey in the NHL recently, but hasn’t scored in five games. This could be the game he gets back to scoring and at +270 it could be worth a play tonight.<\/p>\n

On the Anaheim side of things, the Ducks best goalscorer Troy Terry<\/a> leads the team with 14 goals and 4 powerplay goals. The Flames have taken the fourth most penalties this season and have struggled on the penalty kill recently. Terry should get more than a couple opportunities to convert. It’s worth taking a look at Terry as an anytime goal scorer with +210 odds.<\/p>\n

Main photo by: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, and check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call\u00a01-800-GAMBLER<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to NHL Predictions. Each day,\u00a0Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play in. Today we\u2019re looking at the\u00a0Calgary Flames against the Anaheim Ducks. Be sure to check out more\u00a0NHL predictions\u00a0every day there\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5244,"featured_media":460287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,22,4547,4548,4524],"tags":[6013,103,6015],"class_list":["post-460206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ducks","category-flames","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-anaheim-ducks-predictions","tag-calgary-flames","tag-calgary-flames-predictions"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5244"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460206"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":460289,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460206\/revisions\/460289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}